memory: the working memory model Flashcards
What part of memory does the WMM describe? How is this different to the MSM?
short term memory only
Name the 4 stores in the Multi-store Model
central executive
phonological loop
episodic buffer
visuospatial sketchpad
Describe the function and capacity of the Central executive
processes any info from every store, solves problems + makes decisions, dedicates tasks to 2 slave systems
capacity= limited
Describe the function and capacity of the Phonological loop (including the Phonological store and articulatory loop)
deals with auditory information and preserves the order of information
articulary control system- (inner voice) which silently repeats words as a rehearsal process
phonological store- (inner ear) holds all words you hear
capacity= 1-2 seconds
Describe the function and capacity of the Visual spatial sketchpad (including the visual cache and inner scribe)
deals with visual + spatial tasks
subdivided into:
visual cache- stores visual data
inner scribe- spatial agreement of objects
capacity=
Describe the function and capacity of the Episodic Buffer
integrates + stores information temporarily from central executive, phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
capacity= 4 chunks of info
Explain that the WMM actively processes information in STM, rather the MSM
it explains how STM is organised and how the mind is active when we temporarily store + manipulate info
How does the case study of KF support the model?
KF suffered brain damage to his STM, his memory for visual information is unaffected however his memory for verbal information was damaged, this supports the MSM as it shows there are separate components in STM for visual and auditory information
How do dual task studies support the model - e.g. follow beam and describe letter F (Baddeley et al 1975)
Dual task studies, demonstrated by Baddeley et al. in 1975, show that when people try to do two tasks at once, their performance suffers. For example, when asked to track a moving light and describe the angles of a letter “F” at the same time, they struggled. This suggests that the parts of working memory responsible for processing visual and verbal information can’t handle too much at once.
Why is the role of the central executive unclear? Hint: use the case of KF to explain.
it doesn’t explain capacity or its specific function and Baddeley admits this, the concept of the central executive is vague e.g. in the case of patient KF, who had damage to his central executive system, he showed specific impairments in processing verbal information but not visual information. This suggests that the central executive may play a role in coordinating verbal tasks but not necessarily visual tasks.
Explain why the model doesn’t account for musical memory
participants in Baddeley’s study could listen to instrumental music without impairing the performance on other acoustic tasks
