1) Some students read through their revision notes lots of times before an examination, but still find it difficult to remember the information. However, the same students can remember the information in a celebrity magazine, even though they read it only once.
Explain why this can be used as a criticism of the multi-store model of memory (4 marks).
This can be used as a criticism of the multi-store model of memory because the MSM implies that the only way that you will remember something is through rehearsal but (as this case study proves) you are also able to remember things if they are interesting, funny or distinctive, therefore making them “stick in the mind”.
2) A case study was carried out on Peter whose brain was damaged in a motorcycle accident. Psychologists tested how many numbers he could hold in his short-term memory. They did this by reading him lists of numbers and asking him to recall the numbers immediately in the right order. He could recall a maximum of two items. The psychologists found that his long-term memory was normal.
a) How was Peter’s short term memory after the accident different from most adults’ short-term memory? (2 marks)
Peter’s short term memory after the accident was different from most adult’ short-term memory because Peter could only recall a maximum of two numbers in the right order whereas most adults would be able to recall an average of seven numbers in the right order.
b) Does this case study support the multi-store model of memory? Explain your answer (4 marks)
This does help to support the multi-store model of memory as the MSM states there the short-term memory and the long-term memory are single stores and so if your STM is slightly damaged then all of the STM is damaged and therefore doesn’t work in the way that it does. It also states that the STM and the LTM are separate stores (one can work properly without the other) and this case study