Working Memory

Question 1

What is WM?

Answer 1

The small amount of info that can be held in the mind and used in the execution of tasks.

Question 2

What is LTM?

Answer 2

The vast amount of info saved over one’s life

Question 3

What did Ebbinghaus find?

Answer 3

Found it easy to recall lists of 7 but harder to recall lists of 12
Found that he forgot most of the words in the first 20 minutes

Question 4

Outline the information processing approach

Answer 4

Developed in the 1950s as an alternative to behaviourism
Idea that humans are processing systems, we encode information, store and retrieve information and then produce a behavioural output

Question 5

What are the assumptions of the information processing approach?

Answer 5

• Information moves through a series of stores
• Information moves serially
• Our cognitive system has a limited capacity
• Therefore, tasks and mental processes can be placed on a continuum relative to how much capacity they require.

Question 6

Where did the information processing approach begin?

Answer 6

Atkinson and Schiffrins model of memory
That memory actually consists of several stores
Memory is made up of a series of parts that work together as a process

Question 7

What did Baddeley and Hitch do?

Answer 7

They added to the information processing model of memory and replaced STM with WM which both a STM store and a place where information is actively processed

Question 8

What does cognitive development involve changes in?

Answer 8

• Hardware, such as the capacity of memory and the speed information can be processed in different systems
• Software, such as children’s ability to use strategies

Question 9

Outline the possible processing limitations

Answer 9

1. Encoding limitations
2. Retrieval limitations
3. Storage/capacity limitations
4. Metacognitive limitations

Question 10

Why is attention an encoding limitation?

Answer 10

Young children have difficulties attending to only the most important aspects of a task
(selective attention isn’t fully developed)

Question 11

Why is rehearsal an encoding limitation?

Answer 11

Young children can use rehearsal but in a less effective way than adults

Question 12

Outline two encoding strategies

Answer 12

Organisation: children below 10 don’t spontaneously group items in categories that can be easily remembered
Elaboration: like adults, children remember pairs of words better if they are provided with an association to make between them

Question 13

What is a retrieval limitation in children?

Answer 13

They may know the retrieval strategy they need to apply, but retrieve the wrong one from memory
Reflecting a lack of knowledge and experience using retrieval strategies

Question 14

Outline the storage limitations in children

Answer 14

It limits the amount of information a child can store and thus remember
Storage capacity increases with age
WM span is usually two items less than a child’s STM span

Question 15

Outline metacognitive limitations in children

Answer 15

Due to poor skills and limited experience, children may not be aware they have memory limitations so may not make an effort to encode something properly
They overestimate their own memory and don’t realise how useful strategies are
Identifying which memory limitation a child is facing is not always easy

Question 16

Why did children perform so poorly after the 1st trial of the Probability Judgement Task?

Answer 16

First a storage limitation was suspected - that they had forgotten the frequency of pictures shown at the beginning
Then they suspected a retrieval limitation - they retrieved the most recent information which was their last response
When children were reminded about token frequency they were successful on all trials

Question 17

What other developing skills does WM support?

Answer 17

Language
Academic skills - particularly maths
General school readiness

Question 18

Outline WM and language

Answer 18

3 to 4 year olds with better WM learned novel labels for toys significantly faster than children with poor WM
WM is also important for language comprehension and processing complex sentences

Question 19

Outline WM and academic skills

Answer 19

WM skills at age 4 predicts reading and writing skills at age 6, independent of SES
WM at age 5 was a better predictor of literacy and numeracy at age 11 than IQ
WM skills in 7-8 year olds predicts maths achievement, even after controlling for vocabulary

Question 20

Outline WM and Maths

Answer 20

Visual-spatial WM is most strongly associated with maths performance in younger children
Verbal WM is most strongly associated with maths performance in older children

Question 21

How can teachers help with WM?

Answer 21

• Auditory support: giving one instruction at a time, making them clear, short and specific and repeating if necessary
• Visual support: write instructions on the board, use classroom checklists and use visual aids in learning

Question 22

How can psychologists help with WM?

Answer 22

Test what kind of interventions are most effective for children with poor WM
Specific training on whatever the child is having trouble with
Cognitive training targeting a domain-general skill like WM
Training targeting metacognitive aspects of memory such as strategies