Memory - The working memory model

Question 1

What does the WMM suggest?

Answer 1

That STM is made up of the central executive, the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer

Question 2

What is the central executive and what is its role?

Answer 2

The central executive has been described as an ‘attentional’ process’
- Has a very limited processing capacity
- Role is to allocate memories to the 3 slave systems

Question 3

What is the phonological loop and what is its role?

Answer 3

• Deals with auditory information and preserves word order (inner ear)
• allows for maintenance rehearsal by being made up of the articulatory process (stores the words you hear - inner voice) and the phonological store

Question 4

What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad and what is its role?

Answer 4

The visuo-spatial sketchpad combines the visual and spatial information processed by other stores, giving us a ‘complete picture’ e.g. when recalling the architecture of a famous landmark.
- Divided into the inner scribe and visual cache.
- The capacity of the VSS is around 4-5 chunks (Baddeley).

Question 5

What is the episodic buffer and what is its role?

Answer 5

The episodic buffer integrates all types of data processed by the other stores (e.g. auditory, visual,spatial) and so is described as the storage component of the central executive, as well as being
crucial for linking STM to LTM.

Question 6

What is the weakness of the WMM?

Answer 6

THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE HAS NOT BEEN PRECISELY DEFINED.
the term “process” is vague.
the central executive may be made of lots of other components. there is a lack in detailed explanation for each component of the WMM, causing doubts about accuracy.

Question 7

What are the strengths of the WMM?

Answer 7

STUDIES OF DUAL-PERFORMANCE
When both tasks require phonological loop the ability to perform is impaired. However when a task requires PL + VSS performance is not impaired. This provides evidence for the existence of multiple components of our STM

SUPPORT FROM CLINICAL EVIDENCE
KF was involved in an accident. He could recall info from LTM however he has issues with STM. KF could remember visual images i.e faces but not sounds. This supports the idea that of 2 store systems - the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial sketchpad.