the working memory model Flashcards
who created the working memory model?
Baddeley and Hitch
what is the working memory model?
it is ‘that bit of memory you are USING when you are WORKING on something’
- it is not a unitary store, it stores and processes information
why does the working memory model have different stores?
instead of all information going into one store, there are different systems or components with limited capacity for different types of information
different stores explain why you can succesfully carry out duel task studies e.g. one verbal and one visual task
according the the WMM, the LTM s a passive store, an area where information can be retrieved by the STM when needed
what are the components of the working memory model?
central executive
episodic buffer
phonological loop
- phonological store
- articulatory control process
visuo-spatial sketchpad
- visual cache
- inner scribe
what is the central executive?
this is known as the ‘big boss’ and it is what drives the whole system. it monitors incoming information from the sense s and decides what we pay attention to (which part of working memory to prioritise), to directs information to slave systems.
this deals with decision making and problem solving and it coordinates the retrieval of information from the LTM.
what is the capacity like in the central executive?
has a very limited capacity
what is an example of the central executive?
when your reading a book and someone comes into the room and turns on the TV. the central executive decided which ‘voice’ it decided to focus on. i.e. the sound of the TV or the words of the book
what is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
it is known as the ‘inner eye’ and it holds information held in visual form for a short period of time
e.g. how things look and where they are
it is used for navigation
what are the parts of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
visual cache
inner scribe
what is the visual cache?
this is what stores visual data, information about for and colour
what is the inner scribe?
deals with spatial relations
e.g. the position of an object and the distance objects are apart.
what is the phonological loop?
it is the part of the working memory that deals with spoken and written material (auditory/sound based information)
this may play a key role in acquiring vocabulary, particularly during early childhood years
what is the phonological loops capacity?
it has a limited capacity
what are the two parts of the phonological loop?
phonological store (inner ear)
articulatory process (inner voice)
what is the phonological store?
it is the inner ear that remembers speech sounds (i.e. words we hear) for 1-2 seconds. if we can keep rehearsing a sound in our head, we can keep it in the phonological store
what is an example of the phonological store?
when someone gives you directions and you are trying to remember them
what is the articulatory process?
holds words heard or seen from the phonological store and acts as an inner voice, repeating those words over and over, as long as they’re needed
this allows us to prepare a speech, to think in words (e.g. when were reading)
what is the episodic buffer?
- it is a temporary store that intergrates information from the other components to construct a mental episode of what is being experienced right now
- it gives a time stamp to memories before transferring them to the LTM
AO3: how is ‘supporting case studies’ a strength to the working memory model?
one strength to the working memory model is that there is supporting case studies. for example, Shallice and Warrington 1974 case study reported that brain damaged patient KF could recall verbal but not visual information immediately after its presentation. this helps us to explain why some brain injury patients have intact STM for visual and not verbal and vice versa, as it suggests that the STM is not an unitary store. therefore, this supports the working memory models claim that there are separate short term stores that manage phonological and visual memories.
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence’ a strength to the working memory model?
one strength to the working memory model is that there is supporting evidence. for example, Baddeley used a dual task method where participants were able to do a verbal and a visual task at the same time, but then struggled to either do 2 verbal or 2 visual tasks at the same time. this is because both the tasks use the same component so it caused difficulty. therefore, this supports the idea of the working memory model as only a multi-component STM makes sense of these results, which the multi-store model is unable to do.
AO3: how is ‘biological evidence’ a strength to the working memory model?
one strength to the working memory model is that there is biological evidence to support it. for example, Braver et al. gave participants tasks that involved the central executive whilst they were having a brain scan. the researchers found greater activity in the left prefrontal cortex which increased as the task became harder. therefore, this supports the views about the working memory model as when demands on the central executive increase, it had to work harder to fulfil its function.
AO3: how is ‘confounding variables’ a limitation to the working memory model?
one limitation to the working memory model is that there are confounding variables. this is because the model was based on laboratory experiments, so confounding variables could be carefully controlled to produce reliable results. however, results from laboratory experiments researching the working memory model will often have low ecological validity as some task are arguably not representative of our everyday activities. therefore, we have to be careful when applying the findings to every day situations.
AO3: how is ‘there is very little on the central executive’ a limitation to the working memory model?
one limitation to the working memory model is that there is very little on the central executive. this is because the central executive is said to be the most important component, however, our knowledge of it is very vague and we know very little in which it works. this means that we know very little about this component compared to the two subsystems it controls. therefore, brain scans suggest that the central executive may be in fact more than one component, contradicting our knowledge of the central executive.
