working memory model Flashcards
what does the WMM see STM as ?
an active processor
what is the capacity of the episodic buffer?
25 items
what is the capacity of the Central executive?
1 piece of info at a time
what is the capacity of the Visuospatial sketchpad?
4-5 chunks
what is the capacity of the phonoligical loop - phonological store
1.5-2 seconds
what is the central executive?
has a supervisory function and controls the slave systems it allocates tasks to them.
it is an attentional process that makes decisions
it has a limited capacity of 1 item at a time
what is the phonological loop?
processes auditory info
the articulatory control system is known as the inner voice. it is a verbal rehearsal system
the phonological store is known as the inner ear- this memory trace lasts 1.5 to 2 seconds if not refreshed by the articulatory control system
what is the visuospatial sketchpad ?
known as the inner eye and processes visual and spatially coded information.
visual cache: a passive store of form and colour
inner scribe: active store holding the relationships between objects in 3D space
what are the 2 parts of the visuospatial sketchpad ?
visual cache
inner scribe
what is the episodic buffer?
acts as a back up store which communicates with LTM and componenets of working memory
stores and integrates info from ltm and parts of WM
braver et al - brain scans
brain scans- when ps were asked to do a task involving the central executive there was greater activity in the prefrontal cortex as task got harder activity increased
this supports because as demands of the ce increases it has to work harder to fulfill its function
how does braver et al support the WMM?
this supports because as demands of the CE increases it has to work harder to fulfill its function
what area of the brain is activity found in when using the central executive?
prefrontal cortex
shallice and warrington KF
kf had poor STM ability for verbal info but he could process STM visual info
when digits were read out to him it was difficult to recall them
when KF read them to himself he was able to recall them
this supports the idea that the visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop are separate stores
how does KF support the WMM
supports the idea that the visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop are separate stores
what is Baddeley’s word length effect ?
people find it more difficult to remember longer words than shorter words. this is because there is a limited space for rehearsal in the articulatory process
what study of baddeleys shows the CE has a limited capacity?
he found that ps found it difficult to generate lists of random numbers whilst simultaneously switching between pressing numbers and letters on a keyboard
this supports that the capacity of the CE is limited in capacity and is only able to handle 1 piece of info at a time
what is baddeleys dual task study ?
ps were asked to do either 2 visual tasks ( tracking a light and describing the angle of the letter F )
and asked to do a verbal and visual task
it was found that ps had difficulty in doing 2 visual tasks as there is competition for the same slave system whereas when doing a visual and verbal there is no competition
this supports that there is a VSS that processes visual input
what did baddekey find in his dual task study ?
it was found that ps had difficulty in doing 2 visual tasks as there is competition for the same slave system
whereas when doing a visual and verbal there is no competition as different slave systems are used .( VSS and PL)
what were the 2 visual tasks in the dual task study?
tracking a light
describing the angle of the letter F
what does the dual task study support?
supports the idea of a separate store that processes visual input
so supports the Visuo spatial sketchpad
Alkhalifa
reported on a patient with severely impaired LTM who had a capacity of 25 items in the STM
exceeding the capacity of the phonological loop and visuo spatial sketchpad
this suggests the existence of the episodic buffer which holds items in the working memory until theyre recalled
what does alkhalifa support?
suggests the existence of the episodic buffer which holds items in the working memory until theyre recalled
as his STM capacity was 25 items which exceeds capacity of PL and VSS
what has PET scans shown about the WMM?
shown that different areas of the brain are activated when doing verbal and visual tasks
which suggests that the phonological loop and VSS are separate systems
what is the criticism of the central executive ?
negative of WMM
lack of clarity of the function of CE
the idea that is allocates tasks doesnt differentiate it from attention
