Working Memory Model Flashcards
What is the Working Memory Model
A representation of STM
Suggests STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using sub-units (slave systems) coordinated by a central decision making unit (central executive)
Central Executive
Co-ordinates the activities of the three sub/slave systems in memory
Allocates processing resources to those activities
Has a very limited processing capacity
Phonological Loop
A slave system
Processes auditory information and preserves the order in which the information arrives
Includes both written and spoken material
Divided into the Phonological Store and the Articulatory Process
Phonological Loop - Phonological Store
Stores the words we hear
Phonological Loop - Articulatory Process
Allows maintenance rehearsal
Capacity is believed to be 2 seconds
Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
A slave system
Processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our ‘inner eye’
Has a limited capacity (Baddeley 2003- states it is about 3 or 4 objects)
Logie (1995) - subdivided the VSS into the Visual Cache and the Inner Scribe
Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad - Visual Cache
Stores visual data
Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad - Inner Scribe
Records the arrangement of objects in the visual field
Episodic Buffer
A slave system
Is a temporary store for information
Brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory
Links working memory to wider cognitive processes and LTM
Limited capacity of about 4 chunks
Central Executive ——> ? ? ?
Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
Episodic Buffer
Phonological Loop
Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad ——> ?
Long-Term Memory
Episodic Buffer ——> ?
Long-Term Memory
Phonological Loops Subdivides into ? ?
Phonological Store
Articulatory Store
Phonological Loop ——> ?
Long-Term Memory
Evaluation (STRENGTH) - Clinical Evidence
Shallice and Warrington (1970) -
Case study of KF
Suffered brain damage causing poor STM ability for verbal information but could process visual information normally
Suggests his phonological loop had been damaged
Supports existence of a separate visual and acoustic store
However evidence from brain damage patients may not be reliable as it concerns unique cases with patients who had had traumatic experiences
Evaluation (STRENGTH) - Dual Task Performance
Baddeley et al (1975) -
Showed participants had more difficulty doing two visual tasks simultaneously than doing a visual and a verbal task simultaneously
This is because the two visual tasks are trying to use the same slave system
Means there must be a separate slave system that processes visual input
Evaluation (WEAKNESS) - Lack of Clarity over the Nature of the Central Executive
Cognitive psychologists suggest the central executive is unsatisfactory and doesn’t explain anything
Central executive needs to be more clearly specified than just being simply ‘attention’
Some psychologists believe it may consist of seperate components meaning the WMM hasn’t been fully explained
Baddeley (2003) -
Recognised that the central executive is the most important but lease understood component of working memory
Evaluation - Clinical Evidence (COUNTERPOINT)
Unclear whether KF had other cognitive impairments that may have affected his performance on memory tasks
Challenges evidence that comes from clinical studies of people with brain injuries that may have affected different systems
Evaluation (WEAKNESS) - Validity of the Model
Studies use tasks that are unlikely to occur in everyday life and are carried out in highly controlled lab conditions
