How is memory structured, and is it a faithful recording or a reconstruction?
The structure of memory: the multi-store model (sensory, short-term and long-term memory, with encoding, capacity and duration) and the theory of reconstructive memory (memory as an active, fallible process).
A focused answer to the OCR GCSE Psychology J203 memory topic on the structure of memory, covering the multi-store model (sensory, short-term and long-term memory with encoding, capacity and duration) and the theory of reconstructive memory as an active, fallible process.
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What this dot point is asking
OCR wants you to describe two accounts of how memory is structured: the multi-store model (the sensory, short-term and long-term stores with their encoding, capacity and duration) and the theory of reconstructive memory (memory as an active, fallible process, not a faithful recording).
The multi-store model
The three stores differ in encoding (the form information is held in), capacity (how much) and duration (how long):
- Sensory memory. Holds incoming sensory information (sights, sounds) very briefly (under a couple of seconds) with a large capacity. Most decays unless we pay attention to it.
- Short-term memory (STM). If we attend, information enters STM, which has a limited capacity (about seven items, give or take two) and a short duration (around 18 to 30 seconds). It encodes mainly by sound (acoustically).
- Long-term memory (LTM). If information is rehearsed, it transfers to LTM, which has a very large, potentially unlimited capacity and can last a lifetime. It encodes mainly by meaning (semantically).
Information is retrieved from LTM back into STM when we need it. The model explains why we forget unrehearsed phone numbers but remember meaningful events for years.
Reconstructive memory
The theory of reconstructive memory challenges the idea that memory is a faithful recording. Instead, when we recall an event, we actively rebuild it from fragments, filling the gaps using our existing knowledge and expectations, called schemas. Because we use schemas to make sense of events, memories can be changed or distorted to fit what we expect: we may recall things in a more typical way, add details that were not there, or be misled by information learned afterwards. This is why memory is often inaccurate and why eyewitness testimony can be unreliable, a key application explored in factors affecting memory.
Evaluating the two models
The multi-store model is supported by evidence that STM and LTM are separate (for example, amnesia cases like Wilson et al. (2008) where one store is damaged but not the other), and it clearly explains capacity and duration. Its weakness is that it is too simple: it treats the stores as single units and over-stresses rehearsal, when memory is more complex. Reconstructive memory is strongly supported by evidence that memory is distorted by schemas and post-event information (such as Braun et al. (2002) creating false memories through advertising), and it explains unreliable eyewitness testimony. Its weakness is that it can overstate inaccuracy, since memory for important or distinctive events is often quite accurate. Together they describe both the structure and the fallibility of memory.
Try this
Q1. State the capacity and duration of short-term memory. [2 marks]
- Cue. About seven items (plus or minus two) for around 18 to 30 seconds.
Q2. What moves information from short-term to long-term memory in the multi-store model? [1 mark]
- Cue. Rehearsal.
Q3. What are schemas, in reconstructive memory? [2 marks]
- Cue. Frameworks of existing knowledge and expectations used to fill gaps when we rebuild a memory, which can distort it.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR 20194 marksDescribe the multi-store model of memory. (J203/02, Section B Memory)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark Describe item rewards the three stores and how information moves between them.
The multi-store model says memory has three separate stores. Sensory memory holds incoming sensory information very briefly (under a couple of seconds) and with large capacity, but most decays unless attended to. If we pay attention, information moves to short-term memory, which holds a small amount (about seven items) for a short time (around 18 to 30 seconds). If we rehearse it, information transfers to long-term memory, which has a very large, potentially unlimited capacity and can last a lifetime. Information is retrieved from long-term memory back into short-term memory when needed.
Markers reward the three stores (sensory, short-term, long-term) with their capacity and duration, and the processes of attention (sensory to STM) and rehearsal (STM to LTM).
OCR 20215 marksExplain the theory of reconstructive memory. (J203/02, Section B Memory)Show worked answer →
A 5-mark Explain item rewards the idea that memory is an active, fallible process rather than a recording.
Reconstructive memory theory says we do not store memories like a video recording and play them back exactly. Instead, when we recall an event, we actively rebuild it from fragments, filling gaps using our existing knowledge and expectations (schemas). Because we use schemas to make sense of events, our memories can be changed or distorted to fit what we expect, so we may recall things that did not happen or remember them in a more typical way. This explains why memory is often inaccurate and why eyewitness testimony can be unreliable. Information learned afterwards can also alter the memory.
Markers reward the idea that recall is an active reconstruction (not a recording), the role of schemas in filling gaps, and the consequence that memory can be distorted and unreliable.
Related dot points
- Factors affecting the accuracy of memory: interference, context and cues, false memories and the effect of leading information, plus amnesia (anterograde and retrograde) and the unreliability of eyewitness testimony.
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Sources & how we know this
- OCR GCSE (9-1) Psychology J203 specification — OCR (2017)