Responding to the dual store model of memory, the model of human memory has three main components; sensory registers, working memory, also known as short term memory, and long-term memory (LTM). The model shows that information enters the sensory registers even when the person is not mentally active and stays there for about ¼ and ½ seconds, waiting for processing (Radvansky, 2021). The capacity of this component entails all the sensory experience with an encoding that is specific for every type of sense. The information received in this register involves the five senses, including touch, visual information, and sound (Radvansky, 2021).
Its storage capacity is large but with a short duration, making the information stored get lost through decay. The sensory register receives information constantly; however, most of the information is not given attention and therefore remains in the sensory registers for a short period.
When the individual gives attention to the information in the sensory register, the information instantly moves to the working memory. The working memory is the component where individual thinking takes place (Radvansky, 2021). The components store and process information from both the sensory register and the long-term memory. Short-term memory is significant in the interpretation of the information received from the environment. Furthermore, working memory is vital in monitoring and controlling information use and flow all over the memory system.
The short-term memory has a storage duration of about 30 seconds, with a capacity ranging from 5 to 9 chunks. Information stored in the working memory is lost either through decay or displacement. Therefore, it is necessary to keep rehearsing either mentally or verbally to ensure that the stored information exceeds thirty seconds (Radvansky, 2021). For example, maintenance rehearsal enables one to remember phone numbers for a required time when making a call. This shows that in this type of rehearsal, it is not necessary to know the meaning of the information (Radvansky, 2021). Therefore, continuous rehearsal allows the information to be stored for a more extended period when moving the information to the long-term memory.
Information from the working memory to the Long-term memory requires further processing, which involves a combination of information already stored in the long-term memory and new information. Successfully storing information in long-term memory entails relating information with what an individual already knows (Radvansky, 2021). The capacity and duration of the long-term memory are unlimited. Information stored in the long-term memory can be retrieved to the short-term memory when required. This memory component uses elaborative rehearsal, where stored information is linked with new information (Radvansky, 2021).
Elaborative rehearsal is significant in ensuring information is well coded. For example, when learning the lines in a play, an individual relates the character’s behavior, dialogue, and the personal experience one remembers.
Adding to the discussion post, the discrepancy between the sensory register, working memory, and long-term memory is on the capacity and duration of memory. The sensory registers and the long-term memory have unlimited capacity, while the working memory has a capacity ranging between 5 and 9 units (Radvansky, 2021). The storage duration between the memory components also differs significantly. The information stored in the sensory registers fades fast, followed by the working memory (Radvansky, 2021). Long-term memory storage information fades slowly or can remain permanently depending on the effort of an individual.
References
Radvansky, G. (2021). Human memory (4th ed.). Routledge.