PAPER 1 ESSAY PLANS

Question 1

Discuss working memory model (16 marks)

A01:
Developed by Baddley+ Hitch- alt to Atkinson + Shiffrin’s MSM. They believed STM was NOT unitary store- dual task effect.

-Dual task effect- when performing two similar tasks simultaneously, performance is impaired, this is only the case with SIMILAR tasks not different.

• Central Executive- Divides attention to tasks+ controls slave systems: 1) Phonological loop- Limited capacity, deals with auditory info. Divided into articulatory process (silently repeats info) + phonological store (holds info)
• Visuo- spatial sketchpad- Used to plan spatial tasks (e.g. getting from one room to another). Logie divided this into: visual cache- stores info of visual info, inner scribe- stores arrangements of objects in visual field.
• Baddley added episodic buffer due to feeling the model needed a general store which integrates info from other stores and sends into LTM.

Answer 1

A03:

(+) Explains duel task effect
When tasks are done that occupy the same part of STM, performance is impaired, suggesting there are seperate stores within STM. Main reason for WWM was to account for dual task performance.

(+) Evidence from brain-damaged patients- KF
SHALLICE + WARRINGTON studied KF who after brain damage had greater impaired loss of auditory than visual info. This provides evidence for existence of two separate stores for auditory + visual info in STM store.

(-) CE too simplistic
DAMASIO + ERINGER studied individual who had cerebral tumour removed. He performed well on reasoning tasks (CE intact) however had poor decision making (damaged CE) e.g. he took long to decide where to eat. Therefore CE may be more complex than Baddley + Hitch suggested.

(-) Problems with using case studies
Case studies are unique to the individual so cannot be generalised to population. The issue is that most supporting WMM comes from case studies.

Question 2

Discuss MSM (16 marks)

AO1:
Atkinson + Shiffrin developed MSM to explain how memory is stored and how info is processed.

• Sensory register- where info is held at each of the senses.
  Unlimited capacity due to large amount of info senses receive on daily basis but limited duration. Most of this info receives no attention so doesnt enter STM.
• STM- Limited capacity (7+/-2 items), info decays if not passed to LTM. Duration (18-30s). Coding: ACOUSTIC

-Maintenance rehearsal- repeating info to get into LTM + prevents from decaying

-LTM - Unlimited capacity+ duration- info here can be accessed by STM through retrieval. Coding: SEMANTIC

Answer 2

AO3:

(+) Supporting case study (HM)
Different areas of brain are involved in STM and LTM- shown through studies of those with brain damage. HM’s was caused by hippocampus removal from both sides of brain to reduce severe epilepsy suffered. Personality+ intellect remained intact but could not form new LTMS although he could remember events before surgery. This supports MSMs notion of separate stores since HM could not transfer STM to LTM, he was able to retrieve info from LTM.

(+) Supporting evidence
Beardsley found prefrontal cortex active during use of STM but not LTM tasks. SQUIRE- hippocampus active during LTM engagement. Suggests difference between STM+LTM and that there are different stores for them. Strong support for MSM

(-) Too simplistic
Criticised in implying “LTM is comprised of a unitary store”- too simplistic. There are different types of LTM (semantic, episodic, procedural). Not just difference between capacity+duration but TYPE of memory stored there. Maintenance rehearsal can explain long term storage for semantic mem but not episodic

(-) LTM involves more than maintenance rehearsal
CRAIK + LOCKHART- Deeper processing rather than maintenance rehearsal is responsible for info entering LTM. MSM says maintenance rehearsal prevents decay but CRAIK + LOCKHART believe if LTM is less prone to decay and longer-term, then info stored in LTM has to be processed more deeply. This contradicts MSM assumptions as deeper processing is also part of making LTMs

Question 3

Discuss + evaluate types of long term memory (16 marks)

AO1:
2 forms of LTM: Procedural memories- knowing how to do things. Declarative memories- knowing that (knowledge of info)

• Declarative- Episodic + semantic memories - knowing ‘that’
  -Procedural- Procedural memories- knowing ‘how’

-Semantic e.g. knowing currency of country- factual info
-Episodic e.g. first day of school- life events
-Procedural e.g. knowing how to drive a car- eventually becomes automatic through repetition

• Procedural- Implicit
• Declarative- Explicit

Answer 3

AO3:

(+) HM case study support for different types of LTM
HM, after surgery could still form procedural memories but not episodic or semantic. E.g. he was able to learn how to drive a figure by looking at its reflection in a mirror- procedural memory. However, he did not know he had learned this (episodic/semantic). So it supports distinction between procedural and declarative memories and hence the existence of multiple types of LTM.

(+) Further support for different types of LTM- Alzeimers patients
HODGES+PATTERSON studied Alzeimers patients finding they were unable to form new semantic memories but not form episodic. IRISH et al- opposite- poor semantic but generally intact episodic. This double association suggests that semantic+ episodic can be separate.

(-) Other types of LTM may exist- too simplistic
‘PRIMING’ has been suggested refering to how implicit memories can alter an individuals response to a stimulus. E.g. if a person is given list of words including ‘yellow’ and later asked to name fruit, most likely will say ‘banana’- implicit cus answer is automatic + unconcious. Suggests 4th type of LTM.