The multistore model and serial position
Trace attention, rehearsal and retrieval through the sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory, and use primacy and recency evidence.
Section 1 · Memory and forgetting
Original teaching mapped to Cambridge IGCSE Psychology 0266 Version 3 for 2027–2029. The course is independent study support, not Cambridge material, an official mark scheme or an awarded grade. Named-study notes summarise the required findings; candidates are not expected to evaluate named studies. Self-check practice is not official grading, a timed Paper 1/2 simulator or teacher review.
Before you begin
- Use the Version 3 syllabus and confirm availability in your administrative zone with Cambridge and your school. Both papers are compulsory. The updated named-study summaries are required context; full original research articles are not required.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Before the multistore model and serial position, which approach is most useful?
What you will learn
- Describe the sensory register, STM and LTM by input, capacity, duration and access
- Explain attention, rehearsal and the serial-position effect
- Distinguish displacement, decay and access problems
- Use Murdock’s study as supporting evidence and recognise what MSM cannot explain
Three stores and two routes to retention
In Atkinson and Shiffrin’s multistore model (MSM), information first enters a brief sensory register. Attention selects some information for short-term memory (STM); rehearsal can help transfer it into long-term memory (LTM). Retrieval brings LTM information back into current use. Each store differs in input, capacity, duration and access.
Serial position shows a pattern across a list
People often recall early list items well (primacy) and recent items well (recency), with middle items recalled less. The model explains primacy through rehearsal and transfer to LTM, and recency through items remaining accessible in STM. Displacement is loss from STM when new information replaces it; decay is loss from SR or STM without rehearsal; an access problem is difficulty retrieving something from LTM.
Named study: Murdock
Psychology students heard lists of 10–40 common words and had 90 seconds to recall them; the task was repeated on several days with different lists. The first few and final words were recalled most, with middle positions recalled least. The pattern supports separate STM and LTM stores, but MSM cannot explain why deeper processing improves memory.
Pause and explain
Which response best shows understanding of the multistore model and serial position?
Worked example
A person recalls the first and last names on a list but forgets most names in its middle. Explain the pattern using MSM.
Show the worked solution
- The list has a serial-position pattern.
- Early items may have received more rehearsal and entered LTM.
- The latest items may remain available in STM.
Answer Primacy can reflect rehearsal into LTM; recency can reflect current access in STM.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
A new phone number pushes an unrehearsed number from immediate awareness. Name the store and forgetting process.
Give me a hint
New information replaces old material in a short-term store.
Compare my reasoning
- The forgotten number had not been rehearsed into LTM.
- The new number replaces it in STM.
- MSM calls this displacement.
Displacement from STM.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies STM
- Explains replacement
- Uses the correct term
Why might a list’s earliest words be recalled better than its middle words?
Give me a hint
Connect position to rehearsal.
Compare my reasoning
- Early words are presented before many later items.
- They may receive more rehearsal.
- Rehearsal can help transfer them from STM to LTM.
Primacy may occur because early words receive more rehearsal and are transferred to LTM.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies early position
- Mentions rehearsal
- Links it to LTM
A learner recalls the final items immediately, but after a short distracting task those items are less available. Use MSM to explain.
Give me a hint
The distraction changes whether recent material is still active.
Compare my reasoning
- The final items were likely accessible in STM.
- The distraction introduces new information and time without rehearsal.
- Recency is reduced when those items are no longer immediately available.
The recency effect depends partly on items remaining accessible in STM; distraction can remove that advantage.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies recency
- Names STM
- Explains the distraction
Common mistakes
- Confusing displacement with an LTM access problem.
- Calling the sensory register long-term storage.
- Treating the model as an explanation of semantic depth.
What can you explain now?
Which effect refers to improved recall of the last items?
Compare with the explanation
Recency
Recent items may still be available in STM at recall.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
How does MSM explain primacy, recency and three different ways information can be forgotten?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.