Unit 1 - Memory WM Flashcards
Who comprised the WM model and what does it suggest about STM?
Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
The WM suggest that STM is active and complex. It comprised of 3 main components
Describe the Central Executive in WM.
It has overall control of the model. It has limited capacity but can process any sensory information e.g. vision and hearing. Control processes it is responsible for include: assigning tasks to the ‘slave systems”, inhibiting irrelevant information, switching attention between tasks, retrieving information from LTM, and coordinating overall activity.
Describe the Phonological Loop in WM.
It deals with sound based information, has a limited capacity, is a temporary storage store and is further dived into two; phonological store (passive) which stores auditory input, and the articulatory system (active) which rehearses information and converts other information into acoustic material.
Describe the Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad in WM.
It deals with visual information. It has a limited capacity, is a temporary storage store and is further dived into two; the visual cache (passive) which stores visual input, and the inner scribe (active) which rehearses visual information and holds information regarding movement spatial relations.
Identify and describe the component later added in 2000.
Later in 2000 a fourth component was added, called the Episodic Buffer. This episodic buffer’s task was to integrate information and to chronologically order the information. It was also assumed to have links to LTM.
Describe one study into the Phonological Loop (there being distinct components).
Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
Aim: to test prediction using the “dual task procedure”.
Method: Participants did a verbal reasoning task in which they were presented with a sentence and has to state whether it was true of false (e.g. Does B follow A? in BA). However they had to recite a six digit number while doing so.
Results: It should have not been possible to do both tasks simultaneously as the digit span of STM is 7+-2 which is lower than the amount of information that was being processed during this task. However very little errors were made by the participants (the speed was slightly reduced).
Conclusion: As both tasks were able to take place simultaneously the findings demonstrate there must be more than one component involved and thus the existence of the phonological loop.
Trojani and Grossi (1995)
They reported the case of SC who had experienced brain damage which seem to affect his phonological loop but not his visual-spatial sketchpad.
This supports the idea that the components are separate.
Describe one study that provides evidence for the Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad.
Baddeley et al (1973)
Aim: To investigate the existence of the Visuo-spatial sketchpad.
Method: Participants were given a visual tracking task (they had to track a moving light with a pointer). At the same time they were given a visual imagery task to complete. Participants were asked to imagine a block capital such as F then starting at the bottom had to classify whether the angle included the top or bottom line of the letter.
Results: Participants found it difficult to do both tasks but were perfectly capable of carrying out the tracking task while doing a verbal task.
Conclusion: the tracking and letter imagery task were both competing for limited resources of the Visuo-spatial sketchpad whereas a tracking task and verbal task were making use of separated components (the Visuo-spatial sketchpad and the phonological loop). Therefore it supports the idea that the phonological loop and sketchpad are separate systems.
Describe one study that provides evidence for the Central Executive.
Baddeley (1996)
Aim: To investigate functions associated with the CE including selective attention.
Method: Participants were asked to generate random 8 digit sequences of numbers by pressing numbers on a keyboard. This task was either carried out on its own of simultaneously with 1 of 3 other conditions (while reciting the alphabet, counting from 1, alternating between numbers and letters e.g. A1B2C3)
Results: The sequence of numbers became increasing less random while participants were also alternating between numbers and letters.
Conclusion: The random number generation and the alternation task were both competing for the same resource of the CE, supporting the existence of the CE.
Evaluate the WM (strengths only).
- It has been extremely influential and most psychologist now use the model in preference to the STM of the MSM à it is much more plausible as it incorporates more than just acoustic coding as it describe the phonological loop and Visuo-spatial sketchpad.
- Evidence come in the form of PET scans à this is empirical evidence that physically shows different areas of the brain being active during different tasks e.g. verbal and visual à evidence clearly supports the model being made of separate components.
- Practical implications as it implies that children with reading difficulties suffer from a defect in the phonological loop and that we must deal with this in order to help them with their difficulties.
- There is neurological evidence as patients with brain damage such as KF provide support as he struggles recalling auditory information from STM but was capable of recalling visual information as the damage could be concluded to have affect the phonological loop but not the Visuo-spatial sketchpad providing support for the multiple components on WM.
Evaluate the WM (limitations only).
- It is oversimplified and reductionist à in particular the CE and it does not give much information on how the LTM works as it takes a complex idea and makes it too simple –> it is not a comprehensive model of memory.
- Although there are supporting case studies there are methodological issue with theses –> the sample is usually one person who is very unique and so it is unrepresentative –> hard to generalise to the wider population.
- Most of the supporting studies are lab experiments –> which do not reflect real life situation e.g. in real life we are not likely to be required to remember lists of words everyday –> evidence is hard to generalise to real life.
- Some part of the model have been widely explored –> e.g. the CE and Visuo-spatial sketchpad à there is little supporting evidence that they exist and how they work –> the model may be descried as incomplete.
