Working Memory Model Flashcards
Who developed the working memory model and why?
Baddeley and Hitch (1974) developed the working memory model to account for research that has shown that short. term (working) memory has qualitatively different subdivisions.
What are the components of the working memory model?
- central executive
- phonological loop
- Visio-spatial sketchpad
- episodic buffer
What does the central executive do?
directs attention to particular tasks. controls the other systems by determining how resources will be allocated.
What does the phonological loop do?
controls auditory information. subdivided into the phonological store (inner ear), and articulatory process (inner voice).
What does the Visio-spatial sketchpad do?
processes visual (visual cache) and spatial (inner scribe) information - how things look and where they are.
What does the episodic buffer do?
general store. added later to the model to account for things that use visual, spacial, and acoustic information whilst maintaining a sense of time sequencing.
How was Patient KF’s STM affected after the motorcycle accident?
performance when carrying out a task of immediately recalling letters and digits he read himself was much better than when the digits and letters were read out to him.
How does Patient KF support the working memory model?
Proves the different components of the working memory model, as reading to himself uses the Visio-spatial sketchpad, but hearing it read out uses phonological loop. This shows they are different because one is damaged/not working as well as the other.
What is a limitation of using KF as evidence for the working memory model?
Uses idiographic approach - studying how people are unique often through case studies. you can’t always generalise evidence from one case study to the entire population, as things may differ between people.
What research was carried out into dual tasks?
Baddeley et al (1975) carried out a dual task (visual and verbal), and performance was similar to when tasks were carried out separately. However, when both tasks were visual, or both verbal, performance declined significantly.
How does the dual task research support the working memory model?
shows that different components can simultaneously carry out task, but one component can only carry out one task at a time.
Advantages of the dual task research?
- controlled environment and standardised procedure means results should be consistent and easy to replicate.
- extraneous variables were controlled which means a clear cause and effect could be established, and therefore the study has high validity.
Limitation of the dual task research?
the laboratory environment means that the study has low ecological validity.
