We'll begin our discussion of memory with a comprehensive and influential model of how human memory works. The model is called the modal model and was developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) to describe how information is encoded, stored, and retrieved from memory. The model is not the only one proposed and models have since become even more complex and specific, but this model will help you understand some of the important processes that are part of our memory, as well as introduce some of the major terms and concepts important for understanding how memory works.
The first part of the model involves sensory input from the environment in the form of stimuli that we encounter in our everyday lives. For example, suppose that you are having a conversation with a friend. Your senses automatically register everything in the environment in different ways. You can hear what your friend is saying to you, the cars passing by the street, and the chirps of the birds flying overhead. You can see your friend standing in front of you, the people passing by behind, and the building even further in the distance. You can smell the mulch in the planter, your friend's cologne, and the sawdust from a construction site.
All of this information is registered in sensory stores, each compartmentalized by mode: visual, auditory and haptic, according to Atkinson and Shiffrin. These sensory stores hold the information for a very short period of time (eg, a few seconds) and then the information is either sent to a short-term store or disappears to make room for new information as it comes in. This is necessary, because we are constantly bombarded with new information and if this was all stored in our memory for more than a few seconds, we would quickly run out of storage space.
Information that gets processed in some way (eg, we pay particular attention to it or we rehearse it) is forwarded from the sensory stores to the short-term store. This also has a limited capacity, but the capacity can be increased by storing information in different ways (eg, organization strategies). The short-term store can hold information for up to about a minute, but this time limit can also be increased by certain techniques (eg, rehearsal). For example, suppose you call the operator for a phone number you want. The operator gives you the phone number, but you have nothing to write it on before you redial. What do you do? Well, one obvious strategy is to repeat the number to yourself over and over. You are rehearsing the number and keeping it in the short-term store until you need to dial it (called response output from the short-term store).
If you were to rehearse the number for a long time, it might get stored in a more permanent place in memory called the long-term store. According to Atkinson and Shiffrin, the longterm store is the place in our memory where information can be held for long periods of time (minutes up to many years). This does not mean that information can always be accessed from the long-term store.
There are many factors that contribute to our ability to retrieve memories. According to the model though, to retrieve information, it must be accessed from the long-term store and moved into the short-term store for a response output. This process can be aided or impeded, depending on the way in which we try to retrieve the memory. But because the retrieval process involves moving the information back to the short-term store, a response needs to be made within about a minute or else it will be lost from your memory.
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Question Focus: Identify the sense related to sounds in the diagram
Correct Answer: hear
Why this is correct: In the diagram, this blank refers to information coming from sounds. The passage clearly says you can hear what your friend is saying and other sounds around you.
Passage Reference: You can hear what your friend is saying to you, the cars passing by the street, and the chirps of the birds flying overhead.
Common Mistake: Students may write listening, but that word is not used in the passage. You must copy the exact word. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'You can hear what your friend is saying' = Diagram: 'information we ___'
Tips: For diagram questions, look carefully at what type of sense or process the picture shows.
Key Vocabulary:
- hear = notice sounds
Question Focus: Identify the sense related to vision in the diagram
Correct Answer: see
Passage Reference: You can see your friend standing in front of you, the people passing by behind, and the building even further in the distance.
Why this is correct: This part of the diagram shows visual input. The passage uses the exact word see when describing visual information.
Common Mistake: Some students write look or watch, but these words are not in the passage. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'You can see your friend standing in front of you' = Diagram: 'information we ___'
Tips: Always match the sense in the diagram with the exact verb used in the passage.
Key Vocabulary:
- see = notice with your eyes
Question Focus: Identify the sense related to odors in the diagram
Correct Answer: smell
Passage Reference: You can smell the mulch in the planter, your friend's cologne, and the sawdust from a construction site.
Why this is correct: The diagram refers to information from odors. The passage clearly says you can smell different things in the environment.
Common Mistake: Writing scent or odour is wrong because they are nouns, not the verb used in the passage. This is a grammar trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'You can smell the mulch' = Diagram: 'information we ___'
Tips: Check if the gap needs a verb or a noun before choosing your answer.
Key Vocabulary:
- smell = notice a scent
Question Focus: Name the sensory store related to sight
Correct Answer: visual
Passage Reference: each compartmentalized by mode: visual, auditory and haptic, according to Atkinson and Shiffrin.
Why this is correct: The diagram labels different sensory stores. The passage lists visual as the store related to sight.
Common Mistake: Students sometimes write vision, but that word does not appear in the passage. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'visual, auditory and haptic' = Diagram: '___ sensory store'
Tips: When the passage lists items, those exact words often appear in the diagram.
Key Vocabulary:
- visual = related to seeing
Question Focus: Name the sensory store related to hearing
Correct Answer: auditory
Passage Reference: each compartmentalized by mode: visual, auditory and haptic, according to Atkinson and Shiffrin.
Why this is correct: This label in the diagram refers to sound information. The passage explicitly names auditory as one of the sensory stores.
Common Mistake: Writing hearing is incorrect because the passage uses auditory. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'auditory' = Diagram: '___ sensory store'
Tips: Do not simplify technical terms. Copy them exactly from the passage.
Key Vocabulary:
- auditory = related to hearing
Question Focus: Name the sensory store related to touch
Correct Answer: haptic
Passage Reference: each compartmentalized by mode: visual, auditory and haptic, according to Atkinson and Shiffrin.
Why this is correct: The diagram shows the third type of sensory store. The passage lists haptic, which refers to touch.
Common Mistake: Students often write touch, but that word is not used in the passage. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'haptic' = Diagram: '___ sensory store'
Tips: Less common words are often tested. Do not replace them with easier ones.
Key Vocabulary:
- haptic = related to touch
Question Focus: Length of time information stays in sensory stores
Correct Answer: few seconds
Passage Reference: These sensory stores hold the information for a very short period of time (eg, a few seconds
Why this is correct: The diagram asks how long sensory stores keep information. The passage states this clearly as a few seconds.
Common Mistake: Some students write short time, but that phrase is not used in the passage. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'hold the information for a few seconds' = Diagram: 'information lasts ___'
Tips: If a number or time is given in the passage, copy it exactly.
Key Vocabulary:
- sensory stores = very short-term memory
Question Focus: Where processed information is sent next
Correct Answer: short term store
Passage Reference: is either sent to a short-term store or disappears to make room
Why this is correct: The diagram shows information moving from sensory stores. The passage says it is sent to the short-term store.
Common Mistake: Writing short-term memory is wrong because the passage uses store, not memory. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'sent to a short-term store' = Diagram: 'information goes to ___'
Tips: Hyphens are not required if spelling stays clear, but the words must be exact.
Key Vocabulary:
- short-term store = temporary memory
Question Focus: What happens after short-term processing
Correct Answer: response output
Passage Reference: until you need to dial it (called response output from the short-term store).
Why this is correct: The diagram labels the action taken from short-term store. The passage names this as response output.
Common Mistake: Students may write reaction, but that word is not used. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'called response output' = Diagram: '___ from short-term store'
Tips: If the passage says 'called X', X is very likely an answer.
Key Vocabulary:
- response = action
- output = result
Question Focus: Time limit of short-term store
Correct Answer: a minute
Passage Reference: The short-term store can hold information for up to about a minute
Why this is correct: The diagram asks how long information stays in the short-term store. The passage says about a minute.
Common Mistake: Writing 60 seconds changes the wording and is not in the passage. This is a paraphrase trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'hold information for up to about a minute' = Diagram: 'lasts ___'
Tips: Numbers written in words or phrases should be copied exactly as shown.
Key Vocabulary:
- up to = maximum
Question Focus: Name of permanent memory storage
Correct Answer: long term store
Passage Reference: stored in a more permanent place in memory called the long-term store.
Why this is correct: The diagram labels the final memory stage. The passage clearly names this as the long-term store.
Common Mistake: Students often write long-term memory, but the passage says store. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'long-term store' = Diagram: '___'
Tips: Small word changes like memory vs store can make your answer wrong.
Key Vocabulary:
- permanent = long-lasting
Question Focus: Length of time information stays in long-term store
Correct Answer: many years
Passage Reference: held for long periods of time (minutes up to many years).
Why this is correct: The diagram asks how long information can stay in long-term store. The passage states it can last many years.
Common Mistake: Writing only years is incomplete because the passage gives a full phrase. This is a partial truth trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'minutes up to many years' = Diagram: 'stored for ___'
Tips: When a range is given, choose the part that best matches the diagram label.
Key Vocabulary:
- long-term = lasting a long time
General Tips:
- Diagram completion answers follow the passage order, so move down the text as you move through the diagram.
- Always copy the exact word or phrase from the passage. Do not use your own synonyms.
- Check the word limit carefully. Extra words automatically make the answer wrong.
- Use grammar clues from the diagram. Decide if the gap needs a verb, noun, or time phrase.
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