The Working Memory Model Flashcards
Who created the working memory model?
Baddeley and Hitch
What does the WMM focus on?
Short term memory and how it functions
Sees the short term memory as actively processing memory
What is the role of the central executive
Monitoring incoming data and controlling the other components
What is the coding and capacity of the central executive?
Coding: modality free
Capacity: very limited processing capacity
What is the role of the phonological loop?
Dealing with auditory information
What does the phonological loop contain?
What is the role of these components?
Phonological store : stores words you hear
Articulatory process : allows for maintenance rehearsal
What is the coding and capacity of the phonological loop?
Coding: acoustic
Capacity: two seconds worth of what you can say
What is the role of the Visuospatial sketchpad?
Storing visual and spatial information
What does the visuospatial sketchpad contain?
What is the role of these components?
Visual cache : stores visual data
Inner scribe : records the arrangement of objects in the visual field
What is the coding and capacity of the visuospatial sketchpad?
Coding: visual
Capacity: limited - around 3-4 objects
What is the role of the episodic buffer?
It is a temporary store for information
It integrates visual, spatial, and verbal information
What is the coding and capacity of the episodic buffer?
Coding: modality free
Capacity: limited - about 4 chunks
Evaluate the WMM?
Strengths:
Clinical evidence to support it- KF visuospatial sketchpad intact and phonological loop impaired
Baddeleys dual task performance studie suggests that there must be separate systems in the STM, one that processes visual information (VSS) and one that processes verbal information (PL)
Weaknesses:
The model is supported by highly controlled lab studies that use artificial stimuli, this may effect validity
Baddeley created the model and carried out the research to support it so there may be some researcher bias
What was Baddeley’s dual task performance study?
He had participants carry out a visual and a verbal task at the same time. Their performance in this was similar to when they did the tasks separately
However, when he had participants do either 2 visual or 2 verbal tasks at the same time, their performance was much worse.
This suggests that there must be separate systems in the STM that deal with different types of information
Also demonstrates how a slave system cannot do two tasks at the same time and perform well
