Working Memory Model

Question 1

WMM

Answer 1

Central executive :
- Viewed as the attentional controller with the capacity to focus, divide and switch your attention between the task
- Controls the meta resource available to the two ‘slave systems’
- It essentially controls what needs to be paid attention to and connects the knowledge to the LTM
Visuospatial sketchpad :
- Holds information that we see
- Used to manipulate spatial objects in our minds such as shapes, colours and position
- Capacity of 3-4 objects
- Visual cache - stores information about form and colour
- Inner scribe - records the arrangement of objects in the visual field it can also rehearse visual/spatial information, can rotate shapes as well
Phonological Loop :
- Phonological store allows you to store auditory information
- Articulator process is what allows maintenance rehearsal this is maintained by sub vocalization
Episodic Buffer :
- Combines visual information and auditory information together to form an episode
- It is supposed to provide chronological order or time sequencing to the other two stores

Question 2

Strengths of WMM

Answer 2

Strengths :
- There is evidence to support WWM
- Baddeley and Hitch conducted a dual-task study when participants had to process two visual tasks simultaneously (tracking a dot and drawing a capital F) but when doing the tracking task with an auditory task they had no issues. Showing that two separate stores for visual and auditory information
- The experiment demonstrates that in the STM there is limited capacity for visual information and supports the idea in the WMM that there are separate processing systems for visual and auditory

Question 3

Weakness of WMM

Answer 3

Weakness :
- The WMM has a problem as it doesn’t explain how the central executive interacts with the other store
- Eslinger and Damasio studied EVR who has a brain tumour, and he could perform tasks requiring reason but no decision-making. This shows the central executive has multiple stores that have separate decision and reasoning function
- This study shows that the CE has more stores for different type of activities