WMM Flashcards
what are the 4 components of the WMM?
central executive
episodic buffer
phonological loop
visuo-spatial sketchpad
what does the model of WMM focus on?
the processing of information NOT the ability to recall
who proposed the WMM?
Baddley and Hitch
what was the purpose of developing the WMM?
to better the understanding of the STM as it is not a singular store and has multiple layers
how is the LTM linked to the STM?
by the episodic buffer
what is are the 4 roles of the central executive?
- to decide where the attention need to be payed to
- to decide what components are needed for tasks
- coordinates retrieval from LTM
- the ability to switch information between tasks
what is the capacity and encoding of the central executive?
limited and cannot encode as has no processing ability
what are the 2 subdivides of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
visual cache- stores visual info
inner scribe- records the arrangement of objects in a visual field
how many objects can the VSS ‘contain’ in a visual field?
3-4
what is the capacity and encoding for the VSS?
limited and visual
what are the 2 subdivides of the phonological loop?
phonological store- processes speech perception and stores spoken words we hear for 1-2 seconds
articulatory control system- processes speech production, and rehearses and stores verbal information from the phonological store
what is the capacity and encoding of the PL?
limited and acoustic
what are the 2 ‘slave systems’ WMM?
PL and VSS
what is the episodic buffer?
The episodic buffer acts as a ‘backup’ store which communicates with both long-term memory and the components of working memory (PL and VSS)
acting as a storage for the CE
what is the capacity of the Episodic buffer?
limited only 4 chunks
what is the encoding of the episodic buffer?
cannot encode as has no processing ability
research + WMM?
Brooks
dual task
easier if tapping and verbal
harder when same component
research - WMM?
lab
practical applications + WMM?
PARK et al
schizophrenia trouble with WMM so used to diagnose by dual task
theoretical - WMM?
oversimplified as role of CE unclear in the case of EVR couldn’t make good decisions but good reasoning skills after having a tumour removed from a part in his brain
what research was conducted to prove the existence of the Central executive?
Bunge
FMRI allowed us to see what parts of the brain are more active, as task became harder activity in the pre-frontal cortex increased
most activity show in the dual task area as attention demands increase in the central executive
more demands=more activity
what research was conducted to prove the existence of the VSS?
Brookes
Visualise letter and asked questions about it
can respond by tapping, pointing or speaking
quickest response– verbal or tapping as uses two different components
what research was conducted to prove the existence of the PL?
Baddely
short vs long word list
recalled more short words as can be contained in the 1.5-2s cap shows that cap is based on time taken to say the word not the number of words
what research was conducted to prove the existence of the episodic buffer?
Alkhakifa
patient with impaired ltm had a cap on 25 items in the short term memory
more than PL and VSS therefore can hold items
