Working Memory

Question 1

According to Baddeley (2010), what is working memory?

Answer 1

The system or systems that are assumed to be necessary in order to keep things in mind while performing complex tasks such as reasoning, comprehension and learning

Question 2

Summarise the modal model of memory

Answer 2

Multiple memory stores
Info passes between via attention, encoding and retrieval
Info maintained in STS via rehearsal
Stored in sensory register for very short time
If attended to, goes into STS
Can bring long-term content into short-term to recall

Question 3

What are three problems with the modal model of memory?

Answer 3

1. Only one short-term store
2. Time items spend in STS dictates how well they’re stored in LTS
3. Patients with selective damage to STS (digit recall dramatically impaired) had no problem with comprehension, problem solving, general intelligence

Question 4

What are the three key components of Baddeley and Hitch (1974) working memory model?

Answer 4

1. Central executive
2. Visuospatital sketchpad
3. Phonological loop

Question 5

What is the word length effect?

Answer 5

Correct recall relates to number of syllables

Question 6

People only remember what they can say outlaid in …seconds?

Answer 6

1.5

Question 7

What are the two functions of the visa-spatial sketchpad?

Answer 7

1. Sequences of visually guided actions
2. Seeing things “in the mind’s eye”

Question 8

What does the central executive do?

Answer 8

Controlling the buffers (subcomponents) of the WMM

Question 9

What are three problems with the WMM

Answer 9

1. People able to repeat back meaningful sentences and paragraphs far better than unrelated words
2. Found amnesic patients could immediately remember up to 15 concepts, doesn’t match up with the idea of not being able to remember anything that takes over 1.5 secs to recall
3. Recall after a delay was highly impaired

Question 10

What are three features of the episodic buffer?

Answer 10

1. limited capacity temporary storage system capable of integrating info from variety of sources
2. episodic in sense that holds episodes where info is integrated across space and time
3. Plays important role in feeding info into and retrieving info from episodic LTM

Question 11

What model did Hassan et al propose in 2015?

Answer 11

Hierarchical process view

Question 12

What are the key concepts of the hierarchical process view?

Answer 12

Ongoing info processing requires us to accumulate info over time
Constantly update internal model of understanding concepts as we learn more

Question 13

Describe a study that looked into the hierarchical process view

Answer 13

Either listening to jumbled up single words that made no sense, or a sentence that made sense by itself but not in wider context, or listened to whole paragraph where whole thing builds up to greater understanding
Larger regions of brain that showed coordinated activity in paragraph condition