Memory - working memory model Flashcards
who proposed the working memory model (WMM)?
Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
what is the key idea of the WMM?
STM is not a single store as suggested in the MSM
what are the four components of the WMM?
central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer.
what is the central executive?
a supervisory component of working memory that controls the flow of information to and from the other components
what is the visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSS)
stores visual and spatial information. limited capacity. visual cache (form and colour) and inner scribe (3D relationships between objects)
what is the episodic buffer?
integrates info from the other subsystems, communicates with long term memory and includes a sense of time. storage component for central executive. limited capacity of 4 chunks
what is the phonological loop?
auditory information. preserves order which info comes in. divided into phonological store (inner ear) and articulatory process (inner voice)
what evidence is there for the WMM?
PL - Baddeley 1975, remembering list of 1 syllable is easier than list of 2 syllables, linked to time
episodic buffer - Prabhakoron 2000, different brain region active when visual+auditory is combined or seperate
what are the strengths of the WMM?
+ case of KF - poor STM for auditory info but could process visual info normally. damaged phonological loop but VSS is fine.
+ support from dual task studies. Baddeley asked pts to perform visual and verbal task at same time (dual task) = similar to when completed separately. but visual + visual or verbal + verbal, performance reduced. competition when using same store.
what are the weaknesses of the WMM?
- KF could have had other cognitive impairments from his trauma.
- central executive = not understood, needs to be more clearly defined, uncertainty.
