Working Memory Model Flashcards
What is the working memory model ?
A representation of STM. Explanation of now the STM is organised and how it functions. It is concerned with the ‘mental space’ that is active when we are temporarily storing and manipulating info.
What are the 4 components of the WMM?
Central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, episodic buffer
Explain the role of the central executive
The CE has a ‘supervisory role’. It monitors incoming data, focuses and divides our limited attention and allocates subsystems to tasks.it has a very limited processing capacity and doesn’t store information
Explain the role of the phonological loop
Processes auditory information (sound). This includes both written and spoken material.it is divided into the phonological store, which stores the words you hear, and the articulatory process, which allows maintenance rehearsal (repeating sounds/words in a “loop” to keep them in WM while they are needed). The capacity of this loop ‘s believed to be 2 seconds worth of what you can say.
Explain the role of the visuo-spatial sketchpad
Stores visual and/or spatial info when required. For example, when you’re asked certain questions, you visualise it. It has a limited capacity of around 3-4 objects. The VSS can be subdivided into the visual cache, which stores visual data, and the inner scribe, which records the arrangement of objects in the visual field.
Explain the episodic buffer in the WMM
A temporary store for information that brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands. It provides a bridge between working memory and long term memory.it maintains a sense of time sequencing.it has a capacity of around 4 chunks.
What is a strength of the WMM? (Kf)
There is support from the study of kf. Following a brain injury, KF had poor STM ability for auditory info but could process visual info normally. Eg, he could recall digits easier when he read them rather than having them read to him. His phonological loop was damaged but his use was in tact. This is a strength because the findings strongly support the existence of separate visual and acoustic memory stores.
What is a limitation of the WMM? (Clarity)
There is a lack of clarity over the nature of the central executive. Baddeley claims that the CE is the most important component of working memory yet it is the least understood. It needs to be more specified than just being “attention”. Some believe that the CE may consist of separate subcomponents. This is a limitation because it means that the CE is an unsatisfactory component and this challenges the integrity of the WMM
What is a strength of the WMM? (Dual-task)
Studies of dual task performance support the separate existence of the VSS. Baddeley’s pp’s carried out a visual task and a verbal task at the same time and their performance level was similar to when they were completed separately. However when the tasks were either both verbal or visual, performance level declined. This is because both visual tasks compete for the same subsystem (VSS) whereas there is no competition when performing a verbal and visual task together. This is a strength because it shows that there must be a separate subsystem (VSS) that processes visual input and one for verbal processing (PL)
