The working memory model Flashcards
Who developed the working memory model?
Baddeley & Hitch
The working memory model offers an explanation of how what type of memory is organised and how it functions?
Short-term
The working memory model is concerned with the ‘mental space’ that is active when we are…
temporarily storing and manipulating information
Give an example of a short-term memory
Any from working on an arithmetic problem, playing chess, etc.
The working memory model consists of how many main components?
Four
Each of the four main components of the working memory model is qualitatively different, especially in terms of…
coding and capacity
The working memory model proposes that the central executive has a limited/unlimited processing capacity
Limited
The working memory model proposes that the central executive does/does not store information
Does not
The working memory model proposes that the central executive has what type of role?
A supervisory role
True/False: The central executive monitors incoming data
True
Which part of memory does the working memory model propose focuses and divides our limited attention?
Central executive
What does the working memory model propose that the central executive does?
Allocates ‘slave systems’ to tasks
What is the purpose of the visuo-spatial sketchpad as proposed by the working memory model?
Storing visual/spatial information when required
If you were asked to work out how many windows there are on your house and you visualise it… which part of the working memory model would you be using?
Visuo-spatial sketchpad
The visuo-spatial sketchpad has a limited/unlimited capacity
Limited
What did Baddeley propose is the capacity of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
About three or four objects
True/False: The visuo-spatial sketchpad is subdivided
True
Which two things is the visuo-spatial sketchpad subdivided into?
The visual cache and inner scribe
In the working memory model, what does the visual cache store?
Visual data
In the working memory model, what does the inner scribe do?
Record the arrangement of objects in the visual field
Studies of what support the separate existence of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
Dual-task performance
What do studies of dual-task performance show in relation to the working memory model?
There must be a separate slave system that processes visual input, and one for verbal processing (the VSS and the PL)
When Baddeley asked participants to carry out a visual and verbal task at the same time (dual task), what did he find?
Their performance on each was similar to when they carried out the tasks separately
Baddeley found that when people performed a visual and verbal task at the same time, their performance on each was similar to when they carried out the tasks separately. What can we conclude from this?
There is no competition when performing a verbal and visual task together
When Baddeley asked participants to carry out two verbal or two visual tasks at the same time, what were his findings?
Performance on both declined substantially
When Baddeley asked participants to carry out two verbal or two visual tasks at the same time, why did performance decline substantially?
Because both visual tasks compete for the same slave subsystem
What type of information does the phonological loop deal with, as proposed by the working memory model?
Auditory information
Coding in the phonological loop is…
acoustic
True/False: The phonological loop doesn’t preserve the order in which information arrives
False: It does
True/False: The phonological loop is subdivided
True
According to the working memory model, what is the phonological loop subdivided into?
The phonological store and articulatory process
What is stored in the phonological store according to the working memory model?
Words you hear
Which part of the working memory model allows for maintenance rehearsal?
Articulatory process in the phonological loop
Maintenance rehearsal
Repeating things in a loop to keep them in working memory while they are needed
What is the capacity of the articulatory process believed to be?
Two seconds worth of what you say
When was the episodic buffer added to the working memory model?
2000
According to the working memory model, the episodic buffer is a temporary/permanent store of information
Temporary
What is the role of the episodic buffer in the working memory model?
Integrating the visual, spatial and verbal information processed by other stores to maintain a sense of time sequencing
Which part of the working memory model is responsible for maintaining a sense of time sequencing?
The episodic buffer
Which part of the working memory model can be seen as the storage component of the central executive?
The episodic buffer
What does the episodic buffer record?
Events (episodes) that are happening
The episodic buffer links working memory with…
long-term memory and wider cognitive processes such as perception
What is the main criticism of the central executive in the working memory model?
There is lack of clarity over the nature of the central executive
The central executive has been criticised as it needs to be more clearly specified than just simply…
‘attention’
True/False: Some psychologists believe the CE may consist of subcomponents
True
Why does the central executive challenge the integrity of the WMM?
It is an unsatisfactory component
KF had a brain injury that made him have poor STM ability for auditory information, and/but…
but could process visual information normally
KF’s immediate recall of letters and digits was better when…
he read them (visual)
KF’s immediate recall of letters and digits was worse when…
they were read to him (acoustic)
KF’s phonological loop was _______ but his visuo-spatial sketchpad was…
damaged, intact
The fact that KF’s phonological loop was damaged but his visuo-spatial sketchpad was intact strongly supports the existence of…
separate visual and acoustic memory stores
What is the main criticism of the case of KF?
It is unclear whether he had other cognitive impairments which might have affected his performance on memory tasks, other than the damage to his phonological loop
Why does the fact that KF’s injury was caused by a motorcycle accident potentially weaken the validity of the findings of his case study?
The trauma involved may have affected his cognitive performance quite apart from any brain injury
Baddeley said the central executive was the most…
important but least understood component of working memory
What did Baddeley say the capacity of the episodic buffer was?
About four chunks
