the working memory model

Question 1

the working memory model was created by

Answer 1

Baddeley and Hitch

Question 2

why was it created

Answer 2

said the Multi-store model was too simplistic

Question 3

what does it directly challenge

Answer 3

the concept of a single unitary store for short term memories

Question 4

central executive function

Answer 4

directs information to the slave systems, problem solving/decision making , most important component - drives the system

Question 5

evidence for central executive

Answer 5

MRI scans used to see which parts of the brain were most active when participants were doing two tasks
the same brain areas (prefrontal cortex) were active in either dual or single condition
but there were significantly more activation in dual condition - the CE is therefore working harder

Question 6

the phonological loop

Answer 6

stores a limited number of speech-based sounds for brief periods

Question 7

the phonological loop consists of two components

Answer 7

phonological store (inner ear) - allows acoustically coded items to be stored for 1-2 seconds
articulatory control process (inner voice) - allows sub-vocal repetition of the items stored in phonological store

Question 8

investigating the phonological loop: the word length effect meaning

Answer 8

the word length effect is short words are recalled better than long words

Question 9

the word length effect procedure

Answer 9

presented words for very brief periods of time
one condition - 5 words, one syllable
two condition - 5 polysyllabic words

Question 10

results of the word length effect, what does this show

Answer 10

participants remembered short words better - the word length effect
this shows the limited capacity of the articulatory process (2 seconds) so if the word is longer it takes longer to rehearse so we cannot rehearse as many long words as short words that take less time to rehearse

Question 11

articulatory suppression

Answer 11

Baddeley found the word length effect disappeared under articulatory suppression (given a task that would make use of articulatory loop eg. saying lalala)
this means that the word length effect depends on having a verbal rehearsal system (articulatory process)

Question 12

the visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 12

holds visual (what things look like) and spatial (relationship between things) information for a very short time
you use it when planning a spatial task i.e going from your home to school

Question 13

visuo-spatial sketchpad divided into two components

Answer 13

visual cache and inner scribe

Question 14

visual cache and inner scribe

Answer 14

visual cache - stores visual data
inner scribe - records the arrangement of objects in the visual field

Question 15

the visuo-spatial sketchpad study

Answer 15

participants given a visual tracking test: following a spot of light with a pointer as it moved round a circular path
at the same time given one of two tasks:
1. describe the angles of the letter F
2. to perform a verbal task
condition 1 involves visuospatial sketchpad for both tasks
condition 2 involves visuospatial sketchpad (to trace the line) and the phonological loop (to perform the verbal task)

Question 16

results of the study

Answer 16

participants found it difficult to track the spot of light and describe the corners, but found it easier to do the tracking task at the same time as performing the verbal task
this supports the existence of a separate slave system (visuospatial sketchpad) that deals with information
it also shows that the VSS has limited capacity

Question 17

episodic buffer

Answer 17

general storage space for both acoustic and visual information
integrates information from the centra executive to the phonological loop, the visual sketchpad and the LTM
has limited capacity

Question 18

STRENGTHS OF WMM
case study

Answer 18

KF - brain damaged patient could recall visual but not verbal information immediately after presentation, supports WMM claim that separate short term stores manage short term phonological and visual memories

Question 19

2 general strengths

Answer 19

makes sense of a range of tasks - verbal reasoning, comprehension, reading, problem solving, and visual and spatial processing
high internal validity - model was developed from lab experiments - variables are carefully controlled to produce valid results

Question 20

WEAKNESSES

Answer 20

low ecological validity - may not relate to real life as the tasks are not representative of our everyday activities eg repeating words