The working memory model Flashcards
Working memory model (WMM)
Working memory model
Explanation of how one aspect of memory (STM) is organised & how it functions
Concerned with mental space that is active when we’re temporaily storing & manipulating info
Model consists of 4 main components each is qualitatively diff especially in terms of coding & cap
Central executive
Working memory model
Has supervisory role
Monitors incoming data, focuses & divdes our limited attention & allocates subsystems to tasks
CE has very limited processing cap & does not store info
Phonological loop
Working memory model
One subsystem is PL
Deals with auditory info (i.e. coded acoustically) & preserves order in which info arrives
PL subdivided into:
1. Phonological store - stores words you hear
2. Articulatory process - allows maintenance rehearsal; cap of this loop is believed to be 2 seconds worth of what you can say
Visuo-spatial sketchpad
Working memory model
Second subsystem is VSS
Stores visual &/or spatial info when required
Has limited cap, which according to Baddeley is about 3-4 objects
Logie subdidvided VSS into:
1. Visual cache - stores visual data
2. Inner scribe - records arrangement of objects in visual field
Episodic buffer
Working memory model
Third subsystem is EB
Temporary store for info, intergrating visual, spatial & verable info processed by other stores & maintaining a sense or time sequencing
Can be seen as story component of CE & has limit cap of about 4 chunks
EB links working memory to LTM & wider cog processes (i.e. perception)
Evaluation: Clinical evidence
Working memory model
Strength: Shallice & Warrington’s case study of KF
After brain injury, KF has poor STM ability for auditory info but could process visual info normally
His immediate recall of letters & digits was better when he read them than when they were read to him
KF’s PL was damaged but his VSS was intact
Therefore, evidence supports existence of separate visual & acoustic mem stores
Evaluation: Clinical evidence (Counterpoint)
Working memory model
However, unclear is KF had other cog impairments which might have affect his performance on mem tasks
His injury was caused by motorcyle accident
Trauma involved may have affected his cog performance quite apart from any brain injury
Therefore, this challenges evidence that comes from clinical studies of people w/ brain inuries that may have affected many diff systems
Evaluation: Dual-task performance
Working memory model
Strength: studies of dual-task performance support separate existence of VSS
Baddeley et al’s ppts carried out visual & verbal task at same time, their performance on each was similar to when carried out separately
But when both tasks were visual (or verbal) performance on both declined substantially
This is because both visual tasks compete for same subsystem (VSS) whereas there is no competition when performing a verbal & visual task together
Therefore, there must be a separate subsystem that processes visual input
Evaluation: Nature of central executive
Working memory model
Limit: Lack of clarity over nature of CE
Baddeley recognised this when he said “The CE is the most important but least understood component of working mem”
CE needs to be more clearly specified than just being simplay “attention”
E.g. some psychologists believe the CE may consist of separate subcomponents
Therefore, the CE is unsatisfactory component & this challenges integrity of WMM
