Three-store model

Richard C. Atkinson

The three-store model is a model proposed in 1968 by psychologists Richard C. Atkinson and Richard M. Shiffrin to explain the process of information processing and storage in humans and the process of memory formation. The model consists of three subsystems:

the sensory memory , a volatile memory for sensory information
the short-term memory , a memory system with a limited capacity for the intermediate storage
and long-term memory , an indefinitely receptive and time-lasting memory

The three-memory model is also known as the three-level model or the Atkinson-Shiffrin model and is one of the multi-memory models that assume that human memory consists of different levels of memory.

The sensory memory

In the first place of the three-memory model according to Atkinson and Shiffrin is the sensory memory . This is a fleeting memory, which has an enormous capacity, but only has a very short shelf life. Information can be retained in sensory memory for about one to two seconds. This level of memory is also known as ultra-short-term memory or as sensory register and establishes the connection between human perception and the other levels of memory. The sensory memory is responsible for processing information which is present in the form of stimuli and which are received from the outside world via the sensory organs . Both the reception of the stimuli and their processing take place unconsciously. Sensory memory creates immediate, brief and fleeting impressions of what has recently been perceived by the sensory organs. So it creates a brief image of a momentary scene or the echo of a sound. It also serves to temporarily store important stimuli. These are then forwarded to the short-term memory, where the information contained therein is further processed. Sensory memory has two sub-categories, iconic memory and echo memory , which is also known as echoic memory .

The iconic memory

Iconic memory is a sub-category of sensory memory that is responsible for visual impressions and creates a snapshot of what is seen for just a few tenths of a second. In connection with iconic memory, an experiment by the American psychologist George Sperling is of particular importance, which test participants looked at 3 rows of three letters each for a twentieth of a second with the task of memorizing as many of the letters as possible. Most participants only succeeded in doing this for about half of the letters. When the test participants were then asked by Sperling to reproduce only a specific line depending on a sound signal, and this immediately after the letters were no longer visible, most of them were able to solve the task almost perfectly. Sperling's experiment was able to prove the existence of the iconic memory, which enables the pictorial memory of a scene with astonishing accuracy. However, new visual stimuli can overlay this memory within a very short time, leading to the forgetting of the original image.

The echo memory

The second sub-category of sensory memory is echo memory, which is a short-term sensory memory for auditory stimuli. The echo memory makes it possible to reproduce words and sounds even if the attention is distracted and focused on something else. However, these auditory echoes only have a very short shelf life, as they can only be remembered within a time frame of three to four seconds.

The short term memory

The information that was stored in the sensory memory is processed into the short-term memory , which is the central location for the processing of information. This level of memory establishes the connection between sensory memory and long-term memory and, like the level of sensory memory, has a limited capacity. However, the short-term memory has a shelf life of around twenty seconds, which is significantly longer than that of sensory memory, where it is only one to two seconds. Internal repeating can lead to an increased holding time of the briefly stored information.

The human short-term memory is the first conscious component of the three-memory model according to Atkinson and Shiffrin. It represents a buffer for information which is subsequently either maintained and further processed through intensive processing or, if this processing does not take place, is lost and forgotten.

George Miller , in his article The magical number seven (1956), estimates the short-term memory capacity to be 7 ± 2 information units. The short-term memory capacity depends on various factors. Here, for example, the age should be mentioned, since younger adults have a longer short-term memory capacity than older people. Another important factor in the human short-term memory capacity is concentration . Regardless of age, it is easier to remember information units if you are focused on the matter and focus your attention on your project. The human short-term memory is sensitive to disturbances and distractions, such as noises. When attention is distracted, information stored in short-term memory may be lost, making it impossible to pass it on to long-term memory.

Long-term memory

After the information has been processed by both sensory memory and short-term memory, it is transferred to human long-term memory . The long-term memory is characterized by an unlimited capacity and an unlimited shelf life, since there is still no evidence of a limitation of the memory. Long-term memory therefore offers an enormous storage area and has an unbelievable amount of storage space both in terms of time and quantity. There is a very close contact between short-term memory and long-term memory. This is characterized by the fact that information stored in the long-term memory has to be retrieved from the memory of the long-term memory into that of the short-term memory for use. A retrieval of information from the long-term memory is therefore only possible by retrieving it in the middle memory level of the three-memory model, the short-term memory. Long-term memory represents a store for human experiences and learning experiences. For example, facts are stored here, but also moments and experiences. In addition, movement sequences and learned skills are stored in human long-term memory. Long-term memory therefore stores all human knowledge. Because of this, it is also called knowledge memory. Long-term memory consists of the two sub-categories of declarative memory and non-declarative memory.

The declarative memory

Declarative long-term memory is also referred to as explicit memory, because it only stores memories that the person can access in full consciousness, i.e. explicitly. The term conscious memory is also used. The name of the declarative long-term memory is derived from the Latin word declarare , which means to announce or also to explain, because all contents of this memory level can be announced and explained linguistically by humans. Declarative long-term memory represents human memory for experiences and facts and is divided into episodic memory and semantic memory .

In the episodic memory everything is stored that the person has experienced himself. It is used to save and catalog memories of events in one's own biography . This includes, among other things, incidents where one is able to describe them with extensive detailed knowledge and also often from information about the place of the event and the time at which it took place. However, in addition to these incidents that can be remembered intensively, there are also incidents in which remembering is difficult and not so easy. In the episodic part of the declarative long-term memory, this occurs above all when it comes to events that one often goes through in everyday life, for example. The parking process of a car could be cited as an example. The process of parking has lost importance due to the frequent repetition, which at this point has the consequence that the memory of it is only stored in the episodic memory in a weakened form.
Factual and general knowledge is stored within the semantic memory . The semantic part of the declarative long-term memory records and stores knowledge about various concepts, different objects and general facts. In this context, it is important that the knowledge of facts is usually stored in the semantic memory without the framework in which the specific fact was recorded. So people are often not aware of where and in what situation they took in the fact, but can only describe it in general.

The non-declarative memory

The non-declarative memory is also called procedural memory, implicit memory or skill memory . It contains memorized things that are independent of conscious memory and is the specialist in long-term memory for storing movement sequences. Skills are also stored in the non-declarative memory which humans can improve through regular repetition and which include all actions and movements in everyday human life. These skills are acquired in the course of life and stored in non-declarative long-term memory. They are usually called up unconsciously. Therefore, the exact sequence of the skills stored here is normally a lot more difficult to communicate than the contents of the declarative memory. Within the non-declarative long-term memory, a distinction is made between sensorimotor and cognitive content. Sensorimotor content is understood to mean learned movement patterns that are carried out differently depending on the sensory impressions. Cognitive contents of non-declarative memory can be understood as tasks that can be deciphered through the application of different problem-solving strategies. At this point, regular practice and constant repetition is important, as this can improve cognitive skills and solve the tasks more quickly by finding new combination options. In addition to sensorimotor and cognitive content, the non-declarative part of human long-term memory also includes the effects of classical conditioning . Effects of operant conditioning can also be found in non-declarative long-term memory.

Information processing with the help of the model

Simplified scheme of the three-store model

The three-store model proposed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin serves to explain memory formation. In the first place of the model there is a stimulus which is received by the various sensory organs . In the next step, this stimulus is temporarily stored in bioelectrical form in the volatile memory system of sensory memory for about one to two seconds. So-called control processes take place between the three memory levels of the three-storage model, which regulate the flow of the information in the form of stimuli and forward them to the next storage system. By processing the stimulus, the bioelectrical information it contains reaches the short-term memory , where information processing takes place. This was not yet given in the temporary storage of the sensory memory, since this ultimately only provides a fleeting image of what was perceived and the present stimulus is not processed there. The processing of information for input into the memory system is called encoding . This is done, among other things, by creating a context of meaning. Within the memory level of the short-term memory, the information can be kept for about twenty seconds. However, the shelf life can be extended to up to a minute by conscious repetition . The short-term memory is the central storage system of the three-store model. The information now contained within the short-term memory is now passed on to the long-term memory, but only on condition that the information has not been discarded by this memory level due to lack of repetition or perceived unimportance. The information can be stored here indefinitely. However, it must be emphasized at this point that very little information is successful in penetrating the long-term memory. In the long-term memory, in contrast to the other two memory levels of the three-memory model, memory traces are created, which are understood as permanent chemical connections in the brain. In connection with the system of long-term memory, storage refers to the permanent retention of the encoded information. Within the long-term memory, however, the newly stored information is not constantly present and available, but must be retrieved from the storage system for use. Atkinson and Shiffrin understand the content of long-term memory as passive, which means that stored knowledge must first be activated in order to be used. In order to be able to access the information, it is retrieved back into the short-term memory, where it can then be used by humans. The retrieval of information refers to the retrieval of the stored information in the memory storage systems.

Critical appreciation of the three-store model

Alan Baddeley

The British psychologist Alan Baddeley and his colleague Graham J. Hitch criticized Richard C. Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin's view of short-term memory and revised the model in which they included important newer components in it. The short-term memory was understood within the original three-store model from 1968 only as a small storage system for current experiences and current thoughts of a limited nature. However, the research by Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch was able to show that this level of memory is much more than that. The memory system of the short-term memory is not only a temporary storage location, which is responsible for the storage of incoming information, but it is an active work surface. Baddeley and Hitch were able to successfully show that the brain processes new information intensively on this level of memory, brings new inputs within the memory system into a meaningful context and connects these with the memories already present in long-term memory . In order to emphasize this active participation in the process of memory formation, the term working memory was introduced in 1974 . Working memory , also known as working memory , is an expanded understanding of short-term memory. It is characterized by the processing of auditory and visual-spatial information, which takes place both consciously and actively. The information is received in the form of stimuli via the sensory organs . In addition, working memory actively processes information from long-term memory. In addition to the new understanding of short-term memory, which is clarified in the designation of working memory, Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch further revised the original three-memory model and added another new component called automatic processing. Atkinson and Shiffrin concentrated in their model of memory formation on how humans process explicit memories. These are those experiences and facts that humans are able to consciously know and declare. The three-store model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin deals intensively with the conscious processing of data and factual knowledge. However, the three-store model does not take into account that some information skips conscious processing and thus also the long way via the storage systems of sensory memory and short-term memory into long-term memory and is retained directly in the long-term memory. This process of encoding was incorporated into the model as automatic processing by Alan Baddeley and Graham J. Hitch . Automatic processing refers to the unconscious processing of information that accrues accidentally and also of information that has been learned in the course of life but is now known to humans. It is sometimes also known as automatic processing in psychological terminology.

Despite the extensive criticism of Richard C. Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin's view of short-term memory and the strong focus on the conscious processing of explicit memories, the three-step model is a multi-component memory model that focuses on the process of memory formation vivid way. Although the model was introduced in 1968 and is therefore already quite old, it is still one of the basic models of memory research today. The three-step model can easily be understood as a transition model to today's views, which had a great influence in research and still enjoys a central position within psychology.

literature

David G. Myers: Psychology. (= Springer textbook ). 3rd, completely revised and exp. Edition. Springer, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-642-40781-9 .
Hermann Hobmaier (Hrsg.): Pedagogy / Psychology for the professional upper level. 3. Edition. corr. Reprint. Volume 1, Bildungsverlag EINS, Troisdorf 2012, ISBN 978-3-8237-5025-3 , pp. 73-77.
Mareike Kunter, Ulrich Trautwein: Psychology of teaching. Schöningh UTB, 2013, ISBN 978-3-8252-3895-7 , p. 26

Individual evidence

^ University of California: English: Picture of Richard C. Atkinson for biographical article. January 1, 2000, accessed January 6, 2017 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af David G. Myers: Psychologie . Springer, 2014, doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-642-40782-6 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Sabine Bierstedt: Neuropsychological Research Clinic of the Ruhr University Bochum - NPA. In: www.ratgeber-neuropsychologie.de. Retrieved January 3, 2017 .
↑ George A. Miller: The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information . In: The Psychological Review . No. 63 , 1956, pp. 81-97 ( musanim.com ).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Hermann Hobmaier (Ed.): Pedagogy / Psychology for the professional upper level . 3rd edition, 1st corr. Emphasis. tape 1 . Bildungsverlag EINS / Stam, Troisdorf / Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-8237-5025-3 , p. 73-77 .
↑ Thomas G. Graf in Wikipedia in German: Model of human memory. September 27, 2004, accessed January 6, 2017 .
^ From Alan Baddeley: Alan Baddeley professor of psychology, England. January 1, 2010, accessed January 6, 2017 .

[1] University of California: English: Picture of Richard C. Atkinson for biographical article. January 1, 2000, accessed January 6, 2017 .

[:1-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af David G. Myers: Psychologie . Springer, 2014, doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-642-40782-6 .

[:2-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Sabine Bierstedt: Neuropsychological Research Clinic of the Ruhr University Bochum - NPA. In: www.ratgeber-neuropsychologie.de. Retrieved January 3, 2017 .

[4] George A. Miller: The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information . In: The Psychological Review . No. 63 , 1956, pp. 81-97 ( musanim.com ).

[:3-5] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Hermann Hobmaier (Ed.): Pedagogy / Psychology for the professional upper level . 3rd edition, 1st corr. Emphasis. tape 1 . Bildungsverlag EINS / Stam, Troisdorf / Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-8237-5025-3 , p. 73-77 .

[6] Thomas G. Graf in Wikipedia in German: Model of human memory. September 27, 2004, accessed January 6, 2017 .

[7] From Alan Baddeley: Alan Baddeley professor of psychology, England. January 1, 2010, accessed January 6, 2017 .