GCSE Psychology: The Multi-Store Model of Memory Guide

Sensory memory

Sensory memory briefly holds information from our senses (such as sight and sound) for less than a second before it either passes into short-term memory or is lost.

Short-term memory

Short-term memory (STM) has a limited capacity (around 5-9 items, or 7±2) and a limited duration (up to about 30 seconds) unless information is rehearsed.

Long-term memory

Long-term memory (LTM) has a much larger, potentially unlimited capacity and can store information for a very long time, even a lifetime, once it has been encoded from STM.

Moving information between stores

Repeating information (maintenance rehearsal) helps transfer it from STM to LTM. Information already in LTM can be retrieved back into STM when it's needed.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting STM and LTM differ in both capacity and duration, not just one of the two.
• Assuming all information automatically moves from STM to LTM without rehearsal.
• Mixing up encoding (getting information in) with retrieval (getting information out).