The working memory model

Question 1

The WMM consists of 4 main components, each of which is qualitatively different especially in terms of capacity and coding. Name the 4 main components

Answer 1

central executive
phonological loop
visuo-spatial sketchpad
episodic buffer

Question 2

explain the component: central executive

Answer 2

co-ordinates the activities of the 3 subsystems in memory it makes decisions and allocates slave systems to tasks. Has a very limited processing capacity.

Question 3

explain the slave system : phonological loop

Answer 3

deals with auditory info and preserves the order in which the info arrives subdivided into:
The phonological store, which stores the words you hear
The articulatory process, which allows maintenance rehearsal. The capacity of this ‘loop’ is believed to be two seconds’ worth of what you can say.

Question 4

The second slave system: visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 4

process visual and spatial info in mental space often called our ‘inner eye’
Logie subdivided the VSS into:
The visual cache, which stores visual data
The inner scribe, which records the arrangement of objects in the visual field

Question 5

Explain the 3rd slave system: episodic buffer

Answer 5

Brings together material from other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands. It can be seen as the storage component of the central executive and has a limited capacity of about 4 chunks. It also provides a bridge between working memory and LTM.

Question 6

AO3-Clinical evidence support

Answer 6

Shallice and Warrington’s KF patient
this suggests that his phonological loop had been damaged leaving other areas of memory intact. This supports the existence of a separate visual and acoustic store.However, evidence from brain damaged patients may not be reliable because it concerns unique cases with patients who had traumatic experiences.

Question 7

AO3- dual task performance

Answer 7

studies of dual-task performance support the separate existence of the visuo-spatial sketchpad. Baddeley et al. showed that participants had more difficulty doing two visual tasks than doing both a visual and verbal task at the same time. This increased difficulty is because both visual tasks compete for the slave system whereas, when doing a verbal and visual task simultaneously, there’s no competition. This means that there must be a separate slave system that processes visual input.

Question 8

AO3- lack of clarity over the central executive

Answer 8

Cognitive psychologists suggest that this component of the WMM is unsatisfactory and doesn’t really explain anything. Alan Baddeley himself recognised this when he said ‘ The central executive is the most important but least understood component of working memory’. The central executive needs to be more clearly specified than just being simply ‘attention’. For example, some psychologists believe it may consist of several components. This means that WMM hasn’t been fully explained yet.