the working memory model

Question 1

working memory model (WMM)

Answer 1

a representation of STM which suggests that STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using sub units coordinated by a central decision making system.

Question 2

baddeley and hitch (1974)

Answer 2

proposed WMM which is an explanation of how one aspect of memory (STM) is organised and how it functions.

WMM is concerned with the ‘mental space’ that is active when we are temporarily storing and manipulating information, for example when working on an arithmetic problem or playing chess or comprehending language, etc,

Question 3

central executive

Answer 3

has ‘supervisory role’, monitors incoming data, focuses and divides our limited attention and allocates subsystems to tasks.

very limited processing capacity, but can process information from any sensory modality.
does not store information

Question 4

phonological loop

Answer 4

deals with auditory information (i.e. coding is acoustic) and preserves the order in which the information arrives.

limited capacity
temporary storage system

Question 5

the phonological loop is subdivided into…

Answer 5

1. the phonological store
2. the articulatory process

Question 6

phonological store

Answer 6

stores the words you hear

Question 7

articulatory process

Answer 7

allows maintenance rehearsal (repeating sounds or words in a ‘loop’ to keep them in working memory while they are needed).

the capacity of this ‘loop’ is believed to be two seconds worth of what you can say.

Question 8

visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 8

stores visual and/or spatial information information in a mental space often called our ‘inner eye’

Question 9

robert logie (1995) subdivided the VSS into …

Answer 9

1. the visual cache
2. the inner scribe

Question 10

visual cache

Answer 10

stores visual data

Question 11

inner scribe

Answer 11

records the arrangement of objects in the visual field

Question 12

episodic buffer

Answer 12

it is a temporary store for information, integrating the visual, spatial, and verbal information processed by other stores and maintaining a sense of time sequencing - recording events (episodes) that are happening. it provides a bridge between working memory and LTM and wider cognitive processes such as perception.

it can be seen as the storage component of the CE and has a limited capacity of about 4 chunks (baddeley 2012).

Question 13

strength - WMM

Answer 13

p - studies of dual-task performance support the separate existence of the VSS.

e - when baddeley et al (1975) participants carried out a visual and verbal task at the same time (dual task), their performance on each was similar to when they carries out the tasks separately. but when the tasks were both visual (or bot verbal), performance on both declined substantially.

e - this is because both visual tasks compete for the same subsystem (VSS), whereas there is no competition when performing a verbal and visual task together.

l - this shows there must be a separate subsystem (the VSS) that processes visual input (and one for verbal processing, the PL)

Question 14

limitation - WMM

Answer 14

p - lack of clarity over the nature of the CE.

e - baddeley (2003) himself recognised this when he said, ‘the CE is the most important but the least understood component of working memory’.

e - the CE needs to be more clearly specified than just being simply ‘attention’. e.g. some psychologists believe the CE may consist of separate subcomponents.

l - this means that the CE is an unsatisfactory component and this challenges the integrity of the WMM.