Value of cognitive models

IB Psychology· Learning and cognition· 14 min read

1. Core concept

A cognitive model is a simplified representation of an unobservable mental process, and its value is that it makes predictions experiments can test. The multi-store model pictures memory as sensory, short-term and long-term stores; its value shows when experiments confirm its predictions — for example that short- and long-term memory behave as separate stores. The working-memory model refines this by splitting short-term memory into components, and it too earns its keep by predicting specific, testable interference effects.

2. Key studies

IB Psychology answers must be supported by named studies. Learn these to cite as evidence:

📘 Definition

Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)

A delay-filling task removed the recency effect but left the primacy effect intact in serial recall. — Confirms a prediction of the multi-store model — recency (short-term store) and primacy (long-term store) are dissociable — demonstrating the model's explanatory value.

📘 Definition

Conrad and Hull (1964)

Phonologically similar letters were harder to recall in order even when presented visually, indicating short-term memory codes acoustically. — Supports a distinct short-term store with its own code — evidence the model predicts and that later refines it into working memory.

3. Evaluation (AO3)

Strength — testable and productive — Each model makes specific predictions (serial-position, coding, dual-task interference) that experiments can confirm or refute, which is exactly what gives a model scientific value.

Limitation — simplification — Models abstract away messy reality and lean on lab tasks and brain-damage cases, so they capture memory's structure better than everyday, meaningful remembering.

4. Scope

5. Common Pitfalls

Wrong move:

Using a model of memory to answer a 'thinking and decision-making' question (or vice versa).

Why:

A frequently penalised misconception in IB Psychology exams.

Correct move:

Match the model to the process being asked about — memory models (multi-store, working memory) explain how information is stored; thinking-and-decision questions want the dual-processing model.

Going deeper

Cognitive models (of memory)the cognitive models of memory themselves (multi-store, working memory) are COG_4; this card evaluates their VALUE for understanding memory rather than restating them.