The working memory model Flashcards
describe the working memory model (baddeley and hitch 1974)
a representation of short-term memory, suggesting that STM is a dynamic processor of different types of info using subunits co-ordinated by a central decision-making system
model consists of four components, of which are qualitatively different, especially in terms of coding and capacity
describe the central executive
the component of the WMM that co-ordinates the activities of the three subsystems in the memory
allocates processing resources to those activities
very limited processing capacity and does not store info
describe the phonological loop
the component of the WMM that processes sound/deals with auditory info, preserves the order in which the info arrives
divided into:
phonological store: stores the words you hear
articulatory process: allows maintenance rehearsal, duration believed to be two seconds
describe the visuo-spatial sketchpad
the second subsystem which stores visual and/or spatial info when required
e.g., if you were asked to work out how many windows there are on your house you visualise it
limited capacity, about 3-4 objects (baddeley 2003)
logie (1995) subdivided the VSS into:
visual cache: stores visual data
inner scribe: records the arrangement of objects in the visual field
describe the episodic buffer
the third subsystem of the WMM, added by baddeley in 2000
temporary store for info, integrating the visual, spatial and verbal info processed by other stores and maintaining a sense of time sequencing, recording events (episodes) that are happening
seen as the storage component of the CE and has a limited capacity of about four chunks
links WM to LTM and wider cog processes such as perception
what is the clinical evidence to support the WMM (strength)
shallice and warrington’s (1970) case study of patient KF
after his brain injury, KF had poor STM ability for auditory info but could process visual info normally
his immediate recall of letters and digits was better when he read them than when they were read to him
his phonological loop was damaged but his visuo-spatial sketchpad was intact
this strongly supports the existence of separate visual and acoustic memory stores
what is a counterpoint of the clinical evidence (limitation)
unclear whether KF had other cognitive impairments which may have affected his performance on memory tasks, e.g., trauma from his incident may have affected cognitive performance
challenges evidence from clinical studies
how do studies of dual-task performance support the separate existence of the visuo-spatial sketchpad (strength)
when baddeley et al.’s (1975) participants carried out visual and verbal tasks at the same time, their performance on each was similar to when they carried out the tasks separately
but when both tasks were visual, performance declined substantially, as both tasks compete for the same subsystem (VSS)
this shows that there must be a separate subsystem that processes visual input
how is there a lack of clarity over the nature of the central executive (limitation)
baddeley himself recognised this himself when he said the CE is the most important but the least understood component of WM
CE needs to be more clearly specified than just being simply ‘attention’
this means that the CE is an unsatisfactory component, challenging the integrity of the WMM
