Working Memory Model* Flashcards
Outline the components of the WMM…
1) Central Executive
2) Episodic Buffer
3) Phonological loop
4) Visuospatial sketchpad
Outline the capabilities of the WMM…
1) Central executive:
Coding - flexible.
Capacity - limited.
2) Phonological loop:
Coding - acoustic.
Duration - ~2 seconds.
3) Visuo-spatial sketchpad:
Coding - visual and spatial.
Capacity - 3-4 items.
4) Episodic buffer:
Coding - flexible.
Capacity - 4 chunks.
Name the two sub-systems of the phonological loop.
1) Phonological store
2) Articulatory Process
What is the function of the visuospatial sketchpad?
Stores information about our surroundings.
What is the function of the phonological store.
Stores the words we hear.
What is the function of the articulatory process?
Allows maintenance rehearsal.
Name the two sub-divisions of the visuospatial sketchpad.
1) Visual cache - stores visual data
2) Inner Scribe - arrangement of features in the visual field.
Give an advantage of the WMM.
Advantages:
✔ Neuroscanning evidence form Braver et al - increasing activity in central executive = increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex.
✔ Baddeley’s dual task performance study - performance was worse when completing two visual tasks simultaneously.
✔ Shallice and Warrington - KF - separate visual and auditory stores.
Give a disadvantage of the WMM.
Disadvantages:
❌ Reductionist - central executive may have separate stores - raises doubts about the accuracy of WMM.
Who created the Working Memory Model?
Created by Baddeley and Hitch in the 1970’s as an updated version of STM.
What is the coding and duration of the phonological loop?
Coding: acoustic
Duration: 2 seconds.
What is the coding and capacity of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
Coding: visual and spatial.
Capacity: 3-4 items.
What is the coding and capacity of the episodic buffer?
Coding: flexible
Capacity: 4 chunks.
What is the coding and capacity of the central executive?
Coding: flexible
Capacity: limited.
