Working Memory Model Flashcards
What is the Working Memory Model (WMM)?
It is a model of short-term memory (STM) proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) that describes STM as an active system made up of multiple components that process different types of information.
What is the central executive in the WMM?
It’s the attentional control system that monitors incoming data, makes decisions, and allocates tasks to the slave systems. It has limited capacity.
Name the three ‘slave systems’ in the WMM.
Phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, episodic buffer.
What does the phonological loop do?
It processes and stores auditory information (acoustically coded) and preserves the order of information.
What are the two parts of the phonological loop?
- Phonological store: Stores the words you hear.
- Articulatory process: Allows maintenance rehearsal; capacity is about two seconds of what you can say.
How does the PL support language learning?
It helps with storing and retrieving language sounds from LTM, aiding vocabulary development.
What does the visuo-spatial sketchpad do?
It processes and stores visual and spatial information, e.g. visualising your house layout.
What is the capacity of the VSS?
About 3–4 objects (Baddeley, 2003).
What are the two components of the VSS (Logie, 1995)?
- Visual cache: Stores visual data.
- Inner scribe: Records spatial arrangement of objects.
What is the episodic buffer?
A temporary store that integrates information from the slave systems into a single memory and links working memory to LTM.
What is the capacity of the episodic buffer?
About four chunks (Baddeley, 2012).
When was the episodic buffer added to the WMM?
In 2000 by Baddeley.
How does KF’s case support the WMM?
KF had poor verbal STM but normal visual STM, suggesting separate stores for visual and auditory information (i.e. PL and VSS).
What is a criticism of using case studies like KF’s?
They’re based on unique, possibly traumatic cases and may not be generalisable.
What is dual-task performance evidence for the WMM?
Baddeley et al. (1975) found it was harder to do two visual tasks at once than one visual and one verbal task, suggesting separate stores for different information types.
What is a limitation of the central executive in the WMM?
It’s vague and not well understood; it may be made of separate subcomponents but isn’t clearly defined.
What is the word length effect?
It’s harder to remember a list of long words than short words due to limited capacity in the articulatory process.
How does articulatory suppression affect the word length effect?
Saying something repeatedly (e.g. “la la la”) prevents rehearsal and removes the word length effect, supporting the PL.
What did Braver et al. (1997) find in their brain scanning study?
Increased activity in the left prefrontal cortex during central executive tasks, especially as tasks became harder—supporting the CE’s role in managing complex tasks.
