Working Memory Model Flashcards
name the parts involved in the working memory model
central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer & long term memory
what are the two things in the phonological loop?
phonological store & articulatory control process
what are the two things in the visuospatial sketchpad?
visual cache & inner scribe
what are the years over which this model was developed?
1974-2000
role of the central executive
decides how much work & attention each slave system gets, the most important component
role of the phonological loop
auditory short term memory
role of the phonological store
inner ear - snippets of sounds either from outside world or recalled from LTM
role of articulatory control process
inner voice inside our heads
role of the visuospatial sketchpad
inner eye - manipulates images in 2/3 dimensions
who were the subsystems of the visuospatial sketchpad discovered by and when?
logie 1995
role of the visual cache
information about items
role of the inner scribe
information about visual info arrangement
two subsystems of the visuospatial sketchpad
visual cache & inner scribe
EVALUATION - kf case study
STRENGTH
- motorbike accident damaged his verbal recall STM, could only recall 2 items from visual STM but visual wasn’t very affected
- suggests working memory may have separate components (the slave systems)
EVALUATION - paulesu et al 1993
STRENGTH
- volunteers had pet scans to measure blood flow in the brain whilst doing memory tasks
- task 1 = inner voice & ear, task 2 = just inner voice
- concluded that inner voice is in broca’s area & inner ear is in supramarginal gyrus
- showed there are subsystems in the phonological loop
EVALUATION - dual task studies
STRENGTH
- 2 tasks done at once
- 2 visual/verbal tasks done less well than when done alone
- 1 verbal & 1 visual done just as well together & separately
- supports the two slave systems
EVALUATION - counterargument for dual task studies
WEAKNESS
- highly controlled settings
- artificial memory tasks
- don’t reflect daily life
- demand characteristics = people may try really hard in memory tests
EVALUATION - visuospatial sketchpad issues
WEAKNESS
- WOLBERS ET AL 2011 = studies with those blind from birth compared spatial awareness with sighted
- they could use other senses like touch to understand it so not dependent on vision
- concludes visuospatial sketchpad could be made up of different parts
EVALUATION - central executive issues
WEAKNESS
- baddeley - ‘the central executive is the most important but the least understood component of working memory’
- suggestions that it could be divided into focusing, dividing attention & switching attention
