Final answer:
The final stage of the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, where permanent memories are stored, is called long-term memory. This model describes three stages: Sensory Memory, Short-Term Memory, and Long-Term Memory, with the latter having unlimited capacity and containing both implicit and explicit memory types.
Step-by-step explanation:
The final stage of the Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory, where permanent memories are believed to be located, is called long-term memory. The Atkinson-Shiffrin model suggests that information passes through three stages: Sensory Memory, Short-Term Memory, and finally, Long-Term Memory. Long-term memory (LTM) represents the continuous storage of information, and unlike short-term memory, it has a practically limitless storage capacity. Within long-term memory, there is a distinction between implicit and explicit memory, with the former not part of our consciousness and the latter involving memories that we consciously attempt to remember and recall.
The Baddeley and Hitch model, another memory model, also discusses the processing and storing of memories but emphasizes a working memory system with different components such as the visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer, and phonological loop, managed by a central executive that helps transfer information to long-term memory. Hence, while this model adds complexity to the understanding of memory processing, it supports the idea of a transfer from a short-term stage to a more permanent, long-term stage.