the working memory model

Question 1

define the central executive

Answer 1

monitors and coordinates all other mental functions in working memory by directing amounts of the brains resources to the slave systems

Question 2

define the episodic buffer

Answer 2

receives input from many sources, they are temporarily stored and then integrated to construct a mental episode of what is being experienced

Question 3

define the phonological loop

Answer 3

one of three slave systems which codes for speech and acoustic information, it is further split into the phonological store which stores what you hear aka the inner ear, and the articulatory process aka the inner voice which repeats words heard forming a maitenence rehearsal

Question 4

define the visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 4

one of three slave systems which codes for visual and spatial information and is further split into the visual cache, stores info about visual items and colour, and the inner scribe, stores the arrangement of objects in the visual field

Question 5

outline why the working memory model was proposed

Answer 5

Baddley and Hitch

• believed that STM was not just one store but a number of different stores
• proposed in order to explain how we are able to do two separate things at the same time
• why there is no interference if both visual and auditory tasks are performed at the same time

Question 6

evaluate the working memory model

Answer 6

1) supporting research - studies from brain damage victims, KF who STM for auditory info was much less than visual stimuli, his auditory problems limited to verbal material such as letters and digits but not meaningful sounds such as a phone ringing
2) challenging research - central executive is still too simple, researchers studied EVR who had a cerebral tumour removed he perfumed well on reasoning tests suggesting CE was intact but had poor decision making skills suggesting it was damaged- not as simple as thought to be
3) issue and debate- idiographic and nomothetic
4) research methods - problems using case studies of brain damage victims, injury is traumatic which may influence performance on certain tasks , may have other difficulties such as paying attention causing under performance, cant generalise