working memory model

Question 1

what is the WMM?

Answer 1

looks at the STM and argued that the MSM is too simplistic. says that the WMM is a limited capacity store used for retaining information for a brief period while performing mental operations on that information. it is multi-component

Question 2

what are the components of the WMM?

Answer 2

• central executive
• visuospatial sketch pad
• phonological loop
• episodic buffer (was introduced later on)

Question 3

dual-task paradigm

Answer 3

when you use the same store for two bits of information, our processing is slower, whereas if we use two different stores our processing will be much better

Question 4

central executive

Answer 4

monitors the whole system by allocations information into the correct slave system once it’s taken information from our five senses. it also deals with cognitive tasks, e.g. metal arithmetic. it has no capacity of its own.

Question 5

phonological loop

Answer 5

• phonological store: stores spoken words, processes inner speech perception. our ‘inner ear.’ has a capacity of 1-2 seconds of what we can hear
• articulately control system: maintenance rehearsal, our ‘inner voice.’ stores verbal information from phonological store. has a capacity of 2 seconds

Question 6

visuospatial sketch pad

Answer 6

processes information in a visual or spatial form. used for navigation. holds information of what we see as well as manipulating spatial information. capacity of 3-4 objects

Question 7

the episodic buffer

Answer 7

integrates memories - combined information from both stores together to form one memory - so that they can then go to the LTM. to recall a memory, it must first go back to to the episodic buffer. ha a capacity of 4 chunks of information

Question 8

strengths

Answer 8

• support from Baddeley et al. found that word length influenced recall in ppts recall of five different words. recall was higher when shorter words were presented. therefore, this supports the WMM as this could be linked to the phonological store which can hold 1-2 seconds of what we can hear, explaining why shorter words were easier to recall.
• support from KF. brain damage from a motorcycle accident which damaged his STM. his memory for verbal information was severely impaired, however his memory for visual information was largely unaffected. therefore, the supports the WMM as it shows that the STM has different stores.

Question 9

weaknesses

Answer 9

• limited explanation of memory. only considers the STM and not the LTM. therefore, this theory is reductionist as it doesn’t explain how other stores play a part in memory, e.g. the LTM.