Working Memory Model

Question 1

What are the key components of the WMM

Answer 1

The WMM is an explanation of how one aspect of memory (STM) is organised and how it functions.
1. Central executive
2. Phonological loop
3. Visuospatial sketchpad
4. Episodic buffer

Question 2

Central executive

Answer 2

• Essentially a attentional process that that monitors incoming data, makes decisions and allocates slave systems to tasks.
• Very limited processing capacity.

Question 3

Phonological loop

Answer 3

• Holds information about speech based form, and deals with auditory information.
  1. Articulatory process= allows maintenance rehearsal to take place.
  2. Phonological store= stores the words you hear.

Question 4

Visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 4

• Limited store.
• Used for spatial and visual information.
• Entirely separate from the phonological loop.
  1. Visual cache= stores visual memories.
  2. Inner scribe= navigational tool, arrangement of objects in the visual field.

Question 5

Episodic buffer

Answer 5

• Temporary store of info, integrating the visual, spatial and verbal info processed by the other stores.
• Storage component of the central executive and has a limited capacity.

Question 6

Research support from phonological loop

Answer 6

Baddeley: Word length effect
- Recall fewer longer words than shorter words (in terms of syllables).
- This shows that the PL is limited capacity and duration (capacity is set by the duration of words and not the number of words).

Question 7

Research support for Visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 7

Lieberman- suggested that the visuospatial sketchpad implies that all spatial information was first visual.
- However he points out that blind people have excellent spatial awareness, although they have never had any visual information.
- He argues that the VSS should be separated into 2 components: one for visual and one for spatial info.
- Visual + Spatial= separate processing systems- not combined.

Question 8

Issue with the central executive

Answer 8

• This component of the WMM is unsatisfactory and doesn’t explain anything.
• The central executive needs to be more clearly specified than just being simply ‘attention’. For example, some psychologists believe it may consist of separate components.
• This means the WMM hasn’t been fully explained yet.

Question 9

Dual task technique

Answer 9

Baddeley and Hitch: ppts were asked to do simultaneous tasks (2 tasks at the same time).
1. Visual + Verbal= both tasks were fine, performance not impaired.
2. Visual + Visual= performance impaired, competing for the same resources in the VSS (the needs exceeded the capacity and duration available).
3. Verbal + Verbal= performance impaired, competing for the same resources in the PL (the needs exceed the capacity and duration available).

• This tells us they are separate processing systems, and supports the WMM.

Question 10

Limitation of the WMM

Answer 10

Most of the experiments researching the WMM are laboratory experiments.
- This means that the results may be exaggerated and the memory tasks might not represent everyday situations.
- This is a limitation as it means the findings cannot be generalised to other scenarios.
- Overall this decreases the internal validity of the research.

Question 11

Real life case study: KF

Answer 11

• Suffered brain damage.
• After this brain damage, KF had poor STM ability for verbal info, but could process visual info normally.
• This suggests that his phonological loop had been damaged, but the other components of his STM remained intact.
• This supports the existence of a separate visual and acoustic store.