Working memory model Flashcards
what did baddeley and hitch propose?
Baddeley and Hitch proposed a models of STM which suggests that the STM is more complex that a unitary store
what is the central executive?
The central executive is responsible for monitoring incoming data, making decisions and allocating slave systems to tasks with a very limited processing capacity.
what is the phonological loop ?
The phonological loop deals with auditory information and preserves order in which information arrives. Divided into a phonological store which stores the words you hear and the articulatory process which allows maintenance rehearsal
what are the phonological store and articulatory control process?
- the phonological store (linked to speech perception) acts as an inner ear and holds information in a speech-based form (i.e., spoken words) for 1-2 seconds
- The articulatory control process (linked to speech production) acts like an inner voice rehearsing information from the phonological store
describe the visuo-spatial sketchpad
processes visual and spatial information it has a limited capacity. It has the visual cache and inner scribe
what is the episodic buffer?
The episodic buffer is a temporary store for information, integrating the stores and maintaining time sequence. It can also be seen as a storage component of the central executive.
describe the dual task technique investigation
Conducted an experiment in which participants were asked to perform two tasks at the same time. a digit span task which required them to repeat a list of numbers, and a verbal reasoning task which required them to answer true or false to various questions
As the number of digits increased in the digit span tasks, participants took longer to answer the reasoning questions
evaluation: strength supporting research patient KF
research supported by Shallice and Warringtons case study of patient KF who suffered brain damage. KF had a poor STM ability for verbal information but he could process visual information normally.KF had a poor STM ability for verbal information but he could process visual information normally. This suggests that his phonological loop was damaged but not the other areas and supports separate visual and acoustic stores.
what is the issue with the research on patient KF
However evidence from brain damage patients aren’t as reliable because it would be a unique case.
evaluation: strength dual task performance
Baddeley et al showed participants had difficulty doing two visual tasks than a visual and verbal task. This is because they are competing for the same slave system. This shows that they are separate systems.
evaluation: weakness lack of clarity over the central executive
Psychologists say that the central executive is unsatisfactory and not explained as it is the least understood component. This means that the working memory model cannot be entirely explained.
evaluation: weakness lack of explanation
Lieberman criticises the working memory model as the visuospatial sketchpad (VSS) implies that all spatial information was first visual (they are linked).However, Lieberman points out that blind people have excellent spatial awareness, although they have never had any visual information. Lieberman argues that the VSS should be separated into two different components: one for visual information and one for spatial.
