The Working Memory Model Flashcards
Who proposed the working memory model
Baddeley and Hitch 1974
What does the WMM focus on
The STM
Key components of the WMM
-The central executive
-The phonological loop
-The visuospatial sketchpad
-The episodic buffer
What is the function of the central executive
-The ‘boss’
-Processes info from all sensory modalities
-Directs attention and decides which tasks are handled by the phonological loop ], visuospatial sketchpad or episodic buffer.
Capacity of the central executive
Very limited. Can only focus on one task at a time effectively
Example of the central executive working
Solving a maths problem while ignoring distractions
Function of the phonological loop
-Handles all auditory and verbal information
What two components is the phonological loop divided into
-The phonological store
-The articulatory process
Function of the phonological store
-The ‘inner ear’ which holds spoken words for a brief time
Function of the articulatory process
The ‘inner voice’ which rehearses words silently to prevent decay
Capacity of the phonological loop
-Limited to around 2 seconds of speech based information
Example of the phonological loop
Remembering a phone number and repeating it silently
Function of the visuospatial sketchpad
-recesses all visual and spatial information
Two components of the visuospatial sketchpad
-The visual cache
-The Inner scribe
Function of the visual cache
-Stores visual,such as shapes and colours
Function of the inner scribe
-Processes spatial relationships and movement such as navigating a map
Capacity of the visuospatial sketchpad
-Limited but can handle simple visual or spatial tasks
Example of the visuospatial sketchpad
-Visualising the route to a friends house
When was the episodic buffer added to the WMM
2000
Function of the episodic buffer
-Integrates information from the PL, VS, and LTM to create a coherent episode
Capacity of the episodic buffer
-Limited to about 4 chunks of information
Example of the episodic Buffer
-Combining verbs descriptions and visual layouts to imagine a new city
How do Dual task studies by Baddeley support the separation of the WMM components
-Participants struggled more when performing two visual tasks (e.g tracking a light and describing the letter F), compared to performing a visual and verbal task simultaneously. This is because the two visual tasks competed for the visuospatial sketchpad, while a verbal task engaged the phonological loop
-This demonstrates that the PL and VS are separate systems, supporting the WMM
Limitation of Baddeleys dual task studies
-Dual task studies often take place in artificial environments, reducing ecological validity. Multitasking in real life may involve more complex interactions than those tested in the lab
What evidence did Shallice and Warrington find for the WMM in their studies on brain damaged patients
Patient KF had impaired STM for auditory information but normal STM for visual information, suggesting separate stores for verbal (PL) and visual (VS) processing
What evidence did Farah find for the WMM in their studies on brain damaged patients
-Patient LH performed better on spatial tasks than visual imagery tasks, supporting the distinction between visual and spatial subsystems in the visuospatial sketchpad
What is a criticism of the central executive
Some argue its role is too vague/ too simplistic
How do Eslinger and Damasio criticise the central executive
-Studied patient EVR, who had a cerebral tumour removed. EVR performed well on reasoning tasks, suggesting that central executive was intact, however, he had poor decision making skills, which also suggests dysfunction
-This suggests that the central executive may involve multiple subcomponents, reflecting the complexity of attention control. Furthermore, its role is poorly defined and there is little evidence for its structure beyond being a general ‘control system’
What cognitive disorders can the WMM help us to understand (practical applications)
-Dyslexia- liked to defects in the phonological loop, affecting verbal rehearsal and reading skills
-ADHD- Associated with impairments in the central executive, leading to difficulties in attention and ta switching
-This can help us to understand how to use strategies to improve verbal rehearsal in dyslexic children or enhance attention in ADHD patients
