Working Memory Model Flashcards
What was the idea of the working memory model?
That the MSM was too simplistic and research from dual task procedures noted 2 visual tasks or 2 verbal tasks would overload the STM and impaired performance. HOWEVER, looking at something and listening to something did not confuse participants. The working model would propose that acoustic and visual information are processed separately in the STM.
Who proposed the Working Memory Model?
Baddeley and Hitch in 1974
What are the 3 components of the working memory model? and the 2 sub-components?
Components:
Central executive,
Visuospatial Sketchpad (VSSP),
Phonological Loop.
Sub-Components:
Phonological Store,
Articulatory Store
What does the central executive do in the working memory model?
> It is the supervising store which monitors the overall memory systems.
(The FILTER that determines what we pay attention to from the sensory register).
It doesn’t store information but allocates it to the slave systems.
It retrieves information from the 5 senses or the LTM and assigns them to the phonological loop or visuospatial sketchpad.
It divides, focuses and switches attention between tasks- acting as the control system.
It’s thought to be involved in problem solving and attention.
What does the Visuospatial Sketchpad (VSSP) do in the working memory model?
> It is a subsystem that processes visual input (images or light) and spatial information (direction).
Responsible for the temporary storage and manipulation of all spatial and visual information and recreating images in real time or things we’ve seen in the past from our LTM.
Used when attempting mental rotation tasks and when giving directions.
It is encoded visually(known as inner eye) and has a capacity of 7+/-2.
Visual cache= passive store
Inner scribe= active store (allows you to not walk into a table)
What does the phonological loop do in the working memory model?
> Processes auditory information, maintaining speech-based information and sound.
Consists of 2 subsystems, including the inner ear(storage) and the inner voice (rehearsal).
It it encoded acoustically and the capacity is 2 seconds.
It preserves information in the order it was received.
What are the two sub-systems in the phonological loop and what do they do?
> The inner ear(storage) and the inner voice(rehearsal).
The inner ear is also known as the phonological store. It temporarily holds verbal information that is heard for a few seconds.
The inner voice is also known as the articulatory process. It rehearses information through subvocalising to keep the memory in your short term memory.
What is subvocalising?
Saying words in your head whilst reading, eg repeating a phone number in your head.
In 2000, Baddeley added a 3rd slave system, what was it?
The Episodic Buffer
Explain 2 weaknesses of the working memory model.
> Not all aspects of the model are fully understood- The precise functions of the Central Executive are hard to study and investigate. Can make this a circular argument as you cannot prove or falsify the role of the CE, which questions the credibility of this aspect of WMM as the evidence for existence are less concrete.
> Case Study Evidence- Such as KF can be considered limited because it wouldn’t be right to suggest all peoples’ memory works in a particular way due to evidence from a single person. Not generalisable.
> Incomplete/Inaccurate- The 1974 model had been added to over time so it may have been incomplete/ inaccurate and may still be. Adding the episodic buffer in 2000 showed that this was not a complete explanation of working memory and other stores may yet need to be identified.
> Evidence from PET scans- Smith and Jonides(1997) conducted PET scans that showed different areas of the brain were activated during visual and spatial tasks suggesting they are separate store. So may be reductionist theory (oversimplified).
Explain 2 strengths of the working memory model.
> Support from Case Studies- Such as KF which shows that the STM has a visual and auditory store as KF could remember visual information in his STM but not auditory information; LTM was unaffected.
> Can apply the WMM to everyday life- For example, it has been used to help children with dyslexia to identify deficits in their phonological loop digit span capacity and develop strategies to manage this.
> Support from Brain Scanning Studies- Paulesu (1993) found visual STM tasks activate the occipital and parietal lobes, verbal STM activates the inferior parietal cortex and Broca’s area, switching between tasks activated frontal lobe- suggests 3 separate working memory stores.
> Dual Task Experiments- Baddeley(1993) found that participants had difficulty tracking a moving light and describing the angles of a letter while others had no problem when a visual task was replaced with a verbal task. Shows 2 separate working memory stores.
> Evidence from Williams Syndrome- Condition impairs short term visuospatial ability but not verbal language so must be different stores otherwise both would be affected.
What does the episodic do in the the working memory model?
> Multi-modal so it’s not limited to one sense only.
It binds memories together, weaving visual and phonological memories into single memories.
It explains why we can complete a task that combines the use of visual and verbal information.
