The working memory model Flashcards
what does the working memory model explain
how STM memory is organised and how it functions
what does the working memory model focus on
the part of the mind that is active when temporarily storing and manipulating info
how many main components are in the working memory model
4
what are the 4 main components in WMM
- central executive
- phonological loop
- visuo-spatial sketchpad
- episodic buffer
what does the central executive monitor
the central executive monitors incoming data that makes decisions and allocates tasks to the slave systems
what are the 3 slave systems -WMM
- phonological loop
- visuo-spatial sketchpad
- episodic buffer
what does the phonological look process
the phonological loop processes auditory info
how is the phonological loop coded?
acoustically
what is the phonological loop divided up into too?
- phonological store - stores words you hear
- articulatory process -acts like inner voice and rehearses info (capacity - 2 seconds)
what does the visuo-spatial sketchpad process
the visuo-spatial sketchpad processes visual and spatial info
what is the capacity of the visuo-spatial sketchpad
limited capacity - 3-4 objects
what is the visuo-spatial sketchpad divided into
- visual cache - stores visual data
- inner scribe - records arrangement of objects in visual field
what does the episodic buffer do?
- brings together material from subscription into one memory
what is the capacity of the episodic buffer?
limited capacity of around 4 chunks
what does the episodic buffer link together?
links the working memory and LTM together
WMM - Evaluation -clinical evidence
-Shallice and Warrington (1970) studies patient KF with brain damage, KF had poor STM ability for verbal info but could process visual info
- suggests phonological loop was damaged, but not others
WMM - Evaluation - dual task performance
- Baddeley et al (1975) showed participants had more difficulty doing 2 visual tasks than a visual and verbal task at same time - due to both visual competing over same subsytem
WMM - Evaluation - lack of clarity over the central executive
- cognitive psychologists suggest the CE is most important yet least understood factor of the working memory
WMM - Evaluation - studies of the word length effect support the phonological loop
- Baddeley (1975) demonstrated people find it harder to remember long words than short (called ‘word length effect’)
WMM - Evaluation - brain scanning studies support the WMM
- Braver et al (1997) gave participants tasks that involved the CE during a brain scan - found activity in left prefrontal cortex that increased as tasks became harder
