Working Memory Model Flashcards
1
Q
What are the parts of the Working Memory Model (WMM)?
A
STM consists of Central Executive that controls the three separate slave-systems:
- Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
- Phonological Loop
- Episodic Buffer
2
Q
What is the central executive?
A
- filters information
- if appropriate, directs sensory information to the other components (sub-systems/slave-systems) and can process any sensory info in variety of ways
- limited capacity (one “strand” of info at a time, can become overloaded)
- used when performing a demanding tasks and permits us to switch attention between different inputs of info
- reaches a balance between tasks when attention needs to be divided
- involved in cognitive tasks (problem solving, reasoning, decision making)
3
Q
What is the visuo-spacial sketch pad?
A
- deals with relationship between visual and spacial information
- store for what items are and where they are located
- uses visual code which represents info in the form of its visual features (e.g. colour, shape, size etc)
- helps to investigate and interact with their physical environment
- uses mental pictures (inner eye) to rehearse and encode info
4
Q
What is the Phonological Loop?
A
- similar to the rehearsal system of the MSM
- limited capacity determined by the amount of info spoken out loud in about 2 seconds
- preserves the order of info heard
- consists of two components:
• articulatory process
• primary acoustic store
5
Q
Explain the two components of the Phonological Loop.
A
Aticulatory Process: active rehearsal system where words that we are preparing to speak are held (inner voice)
Primary Acoustic Store: passive store that stores words heard (inner ear)
6
Q
What is the Episodic Buffer?
A
- introduced in 2000
- temporary store for information
- integrating (pass into another form) visual, spacial and verbal info processed by the other stores
- maintains a sense of time sequencing to record events that are happening
- store component of CE
- limited capacity of 4 chunks
- links WWM to LTM
