working memory model

Question 1

What are the key components of the working memory model?

Answer 1

• Central Executive
  -Phonological Loop
  -Visuospatial Sketchpad
  -Episodic Buffer

Question 2

What is the main purpose of the central executive?

Answer 2

-‘supervisory role’
-monitors incoming data
-focuses and divides our attention and allocates subsystems to tasks

Question 3

What is the capacity of the central executive?

Answer 3

-limited

Question 4

What is the coding of the central executive?

Answer 4

-modality free

Question 5

What is the phonological loop?

Answer 5

-deals with auditory information and preserves order in which info arrives

Question 6

What are the components of the phonological loop and what are their purposes?

Answer 6

-phonological store- stores words you hear
-articulatory process- maintenance rehearsal

Question 7

What is the capacity of the phonological loop?

Answer 7

maintenance rehearsal loop has 2 seconds worth of what you say

Question 8

What is the coding of the phonological loop?

Answer 8

acoustic

Question 9

What is the purpose of the visuospatial sketchpad?

Answer 9

-inner eye
-stores visual and/ or spatial info when required

Question 10

What are the components of the visuospatial sketchpad and what are their purposes?

Answer 10

visual cache- visual data store
inner scribe- records arrangement of objects

Question 11

What is the capacity of the visuospatial sketchpad?

Answer 11

Limited of 3 or 4 objects

Question 12

What is the coding of the visuospatial sketchpad?

Answer 12

Visual

Question 13

What is the purpose of the episodic buffer?

Answer 13

-temporary store that integrates the info processed by other scores
-maintains a sense of time sequencing
-records ‘episodes’

Question 14

What is the capacity of the episodic buffer?

Answer 14

Limited capacity of about 4 chunks

Question 15

What is the coding of the episodic buffer?

Answer 15

Modality free

Question 16

What research supports the Working Memory Model?

Answer 16

-Shallice and Warrington (1970)
-Baddeley (1975)

Question 17

Use the research of Shallice and Warrington (1970) to evaluate the Working Memory Model?

Answer 17

-research support for the idea that STM is more than just one store
-Shallice and Warrington (1970)’s case study patient ‘KF’ suffered brain damage meaning that he had poor STM ability for verbal information but could process visual information normally.
-This means that KF’s phonological loop was damaged but his visuo-spatial sketchpad was still intact.
-This supports the idea that STM is more than one store, because if STM was just one store KF would have had trouble with both visual and acoustic processing, not just one of them

Question 18

Use Baddeley’s 1975 research to evaluate the Working Memory Model?

Answer 18

-supports the idea of limited capacity in stores
-research showed that participants had difficulty doing two visual tasks than doing both a visual task and a verbal task at the same time.
-this is because both visual tasks compete for the visuo-spatial sketchpad, whereas there is no competition when performing verbal and visual tasks together.
-This supports the idea of limited capacity, because the Visuo-spatial sketchpad could not store both visual tasks at the same time, causing poorer performance from participants.

Question 19

What are the strengths of the Working Memory Model?

Answer 19

-research support for more than just one store
-research support for idea of limited capacity in stores

Question 20

What are the limitations of the Working Memory Model?

Answer 20

-issues with research supporting the model- clinical studies lack control variables and are unique so lack validity
-ambiguity around the Central Executive