the working - memory model

Question 1

define WMM

Answer 1

a representation of STM

Question 2

define central executive

Answer 2

the component of the WMM that co - ordinates the activities of the three subsystems in memory

Question 3

define phonological loop

Answer 3

the component of the WMM that processes information in terms of sound

Question 4

define visuo - spatial sketchpad

Answer 4

the component of the WMM that processes visual and spatial info i a mental space often called our inner eye

Question 5

define episodic buffer

Answer 5

the component of the WMM that brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands - provides a bridge between WMM and LTM

Question 6

who proposed the working memory model ?

Answer 6

Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

Question 7

what is the phonological loop split into ?

Answer 7

phonological store
articulatory process

Question 8

what is the phonological store ?

Answer 8

stores the words you hear

Question 9

what is the articulatory process ?

Answer 9

allows maintenance rehearsal

Question 10

what is the capacity of the phonological loop ?

Answer 10

two seconds worth of what you can say

Question 11

what is the visuo - spatial sketchpad split into ?

Answer 11

visual cache`
inner scribe

Question 12

what does the visual cache store ?

Answer 12

visual data

Question 13

what does the inner scribe record ?

Answer 13

the arrangement of objects in the visual field

Question 14

evaluation - what does clinical evidence do for the WMM ? - strength

Answer 14

P - support from Tim Shallice and Elizabeth Warrington’s case study of patient KF
E - patient KF who had suffered brain damage
- poor STM ability for verbal info but could process visual info normally
E - suggests that his phonological loop had been damaged but left other areas of memory intact
L - supports existence of a separate visual and acoustic store
COUNTERPOINT
- HOWEVER evidence from brain-damaged patients may not be reliable because it concerns unique cases with patients who have had traumatic experience

Question 15

evaluation - what does dual task performance do for the WMM? - strength

Answer 15

P - supports the separate existence of the visuo-spatial sketchpad
E - Baddeley showed that people had more difficulty doing two visual tasks (tracking a light and describing the letter F) than doing a visual and verbal task at the same time
E - both visual tasks compete for the same slave system
L - means that there must be separate slaves systems

Question 16

evaluation - what does lack of clarity over the central executive do to the WMM ? - limitation

Answer 16

P - lack of clarity over the nature of the central executive
E - unsatisfactory because it doesn’t explain anything
- ‘most important but least understood component’ (Baddeley)
E - some psychologists believe that it may consist of separate components