Lesson 4.1.2.1

4.1.2.1 Multi-store model of memory Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 4.1.2.1, Multi-store model of memory: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Psychology (7182), Unit 1: Introductory topics in Psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Which store in the multi-store model is described as having an effectively unlimited capacity and holding information for very long periods?

    • Long-term memory
    • Sensory register
    • Working memory
    • Short-term memory

  2. According to Peterson and Peterson (1959), roughly how long can information be held in short-term memory when rehearsal is prevented?

    • About 1 to 2 days
    • About 2 to 5 seconds
    • About 18 to 30 seconds
    • About 2 to 5 minutes

  3. Miller's (1956) estimate of short-term memory capacity is usually given as which of these?

    • About 2 items, plus or minus 7
    • About 70 items, plus or minus 20
    • About 20 items with no variation
    • About 7 items, plus or minus 2

  4. What is the main coding used in the short-term memory store of the multi-store model?

    • Visual coding, based on how things look
    • Semantic coding, based on meaning
    • Acoustic coding, based on how information sounds
    • Olfactory coding, based on smell

  5. Which feature best describes the coding of the sensory register?

    • Acoustic only, so that all sensory input is stored as a list of words that can be rehearsed in order
    • Modality-specific, such as iconic coding for vision and echoic coding for hearing
    • Mixed across all senses in a single code, so that every sensory input is stored in the same format
    • Semantic only, so that every sensory input is given a meaning as soon as it is noticed by the person

  6. Which pair of features describes long-term memory in the multi-store model?

    • Visual coding and a capacity of seven items
    • Acoustic coding and a duration of about 30 seconds
    • Semantic coding and a potentially lifelong duration
    • Modality-specific coding and a duration of under one second

  7. A student repeats a phone number silently to themselves until they have dialled it. Which store is most involved in holding the number during this time?

    • Sensory register, which holds the number for a fraction of a second
    • The episodic buffer, which links the number to a story
    • Long-term memory, which stores the number permanently
    • Short-term memory, maintained by rehearsal

  8. Sperling's research suggests that a brief visual display is held in a large but very short-lived store. Which store does this describe?

    • Long-term memory
    • Sensory register
    • Working memory central executive
    • Short-term memory

  9. In Baddeley's (1966) study, which pattern of recall errors would suggest acoustic coding in short-term memory?

    • Confusing words with similar meanings, such as big and large
    • Confusing words that sound alike, such as cat and cab
    • Recalling every word in the order it was spoken
    • Confusing words that have the same number of letters

  10. A participant is given a brief flash of a scene and reports that they could see a faint image of it for a moment after it was removed. Which store does this experience most likely reflect?

    • Long-term memory
    • Sensory register
    • Short-term memory
    • The phonological loop

  11. Which of these statements about long-term memory is accurate?

    • It holds information for under two seconds before decay
    • It only holds information while it is being rehearsed
    • It holds information for under 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed
    • It can hold information for a lifetime, although retrieval may sometimes fail

  12. Which case study provides evidence that challenges the idea that all information must pass through short-term memory to reach long-term memory?

    • HM, who could recall events from early childhood without any difficulty
    • A patient whose long-term memory was intact but who could not see at all
    • KF, who had severely impaired short-term memory but could still form new long-term memories
    • A patient whose sensory register was damaged but whose short-term memory was normal

  13. What is the main function of rehearsal in the multi-store model?

    • To keep information in short-term memory and help transfer it to long-term memory
    • To increase the capacity of the sensory register
    • To filter information from the sensory register into a visual store
    • To store information permanently without any risk of loss

  14. Which set of features correctly describes short-term memory?

    • Acoustic coding, a capacity of about 7 items and a duration of about 18 to 30 seconds
    • Modality-specific coding, a capacity of 4 items and a duration of 1 hour
    • Semantic coding, unlimited capacity and a duration of a lifetime
    • Visual coding, a capacity of 2 items and a duration of 0.5 seconds

  15. A participant recalls 5 of 8 items from a list. What percentage of the items did they recall?

    • 50 per cent
    • 62.5 per cent
    • 65 per cent
    • 60 per cent

  16. A flash of letters is presented for 50 milliseconds. Roughly how long would the sensory register be expected to hold a trace of the letters?

    • About half a second
    • About 5 minutes
    • About 30 seconds
    • Indefinitely

  17. A researcher finds that short-term memory lasts longer when participants are allowed to rehearse than when they count backwards. Which conclusion is best supported?

    • Short-term duration is unaffected by rehearsal because it depends only on the capacity of the store, not on any practice
    • Rehearsal extends how long information stays in short-term memory, supporting the role of rehearsal in the model
    • Counting backwards transfers information directly into long-term memory, bypassing the short-term store altogether
    • Rehearsal reduces the capacity of short-term memory to two items, which shows that rehearsal uses up available storage

  18. A psychologist claims that the multi-store model is too simple because it treats short-term memory as one store. Which evidence would best support this criticism?

    • Evidence that long-term memory cannot store any information
    • Evidence that short-term memory has exactly the same capacity in all people
    • Evidence that the sensory register holds information for several minutes
    • Evidence that short-term memory is made up of several components with different functions

  19. Which of the following is a limitation of the multi-store model as an explanation of memory?

    • It only applies to people with brain damage, because the stores it describes are found only in patients with memory loss
    • It does not explain why short-term memory can handle several demands at once
    • It does not describe any stores at all, so it cannot account for the differences between sensory, short and long memory
    • It claims that information can never be forgotten once it enters the stores, since every trace is kept permanently

  20. A patient with damage to the hippocampus can keep a short list of numbers in mind but cannot form new long-term memories. Which store is most clearly affected in the model?

    • Sensory register, because the patient cannot see the numbers
    • Short-term memory, because the patient keeps the numbers in mind
    • The central executive, because the patient cannot make decisions
    • Long-term memory, because the patient cannot transfer new information into it

All AQA Psychology quizzes