The Working Memory Model (2)

Question 1

What are the parts of the working memory model?

Answer 1

Central executive
Phonological Loop
Visuo-spacial sketchpad
Episodic buffer

Question 2

What is the Central executive?

Answer 2

Central executive - attentional process with supervisory role. Allocates subsystems to tasks, has a limited capacity and no storage

Question 3

What is the Phonological loop?

Answer 3

Phonological loop - processes auditory information. Storage in phonological store, articulatory process allows maintenance rehearsal

Question 4

What is the Visuo-spacial sketchpad?

Answer 4

Visuo-spatial sketchpad - stores visual/spatial information, limited capacity. Storage in inner cache, inner scrive for rehearsal

Question 5

What is the Episodic buffer?

Answer 5

Episodic buffer - integrates information processed by other subsystems. Maintains time sequences and has limited capacity

Question 6

Strengths of The working memory model?

Answer 6

• Support from lab experiments - Dual-task performance studies (Baddeley 1975) - Poor performance on two tasks using the same subsystems
• Application to understanding amnesia - Shallence and Warrington (1970) studied patient K, poor stm for sounds but visual was normas. PL damaged but VSS ok

Question 7

Weaknesses of The working memory model?

Answer 7

-Lack of clarity over the central executive - CE is vague and badly understood and unclear

Question 8

Who made the Working Memory Model, and when?

Answer 8

Made By: Baddeley + Hitch

When: 1974

Question 9

What does the Working Memory Model consist of?

Answer 9

Central Executive
Phonological Loop
Visuospatial Sketchpad

Question 10

What does Central Executive do?

Answer 10

Described as a Homonculus (little man)

Supervises the system and oversees the 2 slave systems
Controls and/or Divides the amount of attention shared between the 2 systems
Modality free - can deal with any type of sensory info
Has a limited capacity

Question 11

What does the Phonological Loop do?

Answer 11

Deals with the temporary store of verbal information.

It also involves rehearsing verbal information, allowing it to be held for a few seconds longer. It has evolved in to allow us to learn language.

Question 12

What does the Phonological Loop consist of?

Answer 12

Articulatory Rehearsal System

Phonological Store

Question 13

What is the Articuatory Rehearsal System?

Answer 13

Known as the Inner Voice

Explains the Word Length Effect- shorter words w/ less syllables are recalled more successfully than longer words. The longer the word, the more capacity is used up, and forgetting is more likely.

Question 14

What is the Phonological Store?

Answer 14

Known as the Inner Ear

Holds a limited amount of verbal info for a few seconds, but can be extended if info is refreshed using the articulatory rehearsal system.

Explains the Phonological Similarity Effect- it’s more difficult to remember similar sounding words than different sounding words. However, this effect wasn’t true regarding words with semantic similarity. This shows the phonological store depends on acoustic encoding.

Question 15

What is the Visuospatial Sketchpad?

Answer 15

Deals with visual and spatial information

It deals with the info either directly through observing images or by retrieving visuospatial info from the LTM.

Uses a visual code to maintain + integrate the info

Spatial scan has been tested using the Corsi block tapping task, where participants have to recall a sequence of lit up block on a screen, with the number of lit up block increasing every time

Question 16

What was an issue with the Original Working Memory Model, and how was this Addressed?

Answer 16

A problem with the original WMM was that it didn’t explain why the phonological loop had such a limited storage, but far longer sentences could be bound together by meaning/grammar.

It also failed to explain the interconnections between subcomponents, as well as the LTM

Baddeley addressed this in 2000 and made a 4th component: Episodic Buffer

Question 17

What is Episodic Buffer?

Answer 17

Episodic Buffer is a limited capacity system, that could integrate information between subcomponents, as well as feeding/retrieving info to and from the LTM.

Question 18

What Evidence supports the Working Memory Model as a theory of memory?

Answer 18

William’s Syndrome:
•Normal language ability, Impaired visuospatial ability
•Significant problems comprehending sentences with spatial prepositions
•Shows Association with visuospatial memory and language acquisitions

KF:
•Damaged parietal lobe
•Impaired language memory, normal spatial ability
•Proves they’re separate

Neuroimaging:
•Broca’s Area was activated during a rehearsal task
•Supramarginal Gyrus was activated when the Phonological Store was used
•Difficult to locate the area of the central executive

Baddeley + Hitch
•Ppts found it hard to do 2 visual tasks simultaneously
•Tracking a moving light, and tracking the edges of a capital ‘F’

Question 19

What Evidence challenges the Working Memory Model as a theory of memory?

Answer 19

Research Findings:
•Far longer sentences could be remembered / stored, when connected by meaning
•The WMM fails to explain that

Question 20

What are Other Problems with the Working Memory Model as a theory of memory?

Answer 20

Ecological Validity:
•Tasks like what B + H used do not reflect normal behaviour
•Therefore it lacks ecological validity

Alternative Theory:
•The Working Memory Model only explains the STM
•Episodic + Semantic Memory explains the LTM
•Both can be used together to give a better overall understanding of memory

Brain Damaged Patients:
•Findings can’t be generalised
•Individual Differences affect findings