The working memory model (WMM) Flashcards
What is the working model of memory (WMM)?
An explanation that sees short-term memory as an active store holding several pieces of information spontaneously
Who proposed the WMM?
Baddeley and Hitch
What is the central executive?
A component of the WMM that oversees and coordinates the components of working-memory, directing the attention of slave-systems to particular tasks. It has no storage system
How did Baddeley research the central executive and what did he find?
Asked participants to generate random strings of digits on a keyboard on its own or alongside another task (counting backwards, reciting the alphabet and alternating between letters and numbers). This last task made the string of digits much less random and Baddeley concluded that both the random number generation task and the alternation task were competing for the same central executive resources
What is the phonological loop?
A component of the WMM that deals with auditory information as well as preserving the order of this information. It divides into the phonological store and articulatory process
What is the phonological store?
A system the words you hear, like an inner ear for 1.5 to 2 seconds
What is the articulatory process?
This is used to rehearse verbal information from
the phonological store, and lasts around 1 to 2 seconds, although this can be longer if articulatory control processes are used
How did Baddeley research the phonological loop?
Participants were given a list of short words and a list of long words to recall; more short words were recalled, and this is because the phonological loop can contain as many words it takes to say in two seconds; more short words can be said in two seconds than long words
What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
A component of the WMM that deals with visual information (what things look like) and the physical relationship of items
How did Gathercole and Baddeley demonstrate the existence of a visuo-spatial sketchpad?
Participants were given a visual tracing task (the letter F) and a verbal or descriptive task. Participants found it difficult to perform task one but not task two, likely because task two did not use the same slave systems
What is the episodic buffer and why is it different from the other systems?
It is different because it was added in 2000, years after the original model to fill a gap in the model for a temporary store; It serves as a temporary store of integrated information from the other systems, although it has a limited capacity
What does research into the episodic buffer rely on?
Lab experiments and inferences
