Working Memory Model A03

Question 1

Strength - clinical evidence - shallice and warrington (1970)

Answer 1

• case study of patient KF who had suffered brain damage
• After this damage happened KF had poor STM ability for verbal information but could process visual information normally presented visually, i.e. he had difficulty with sounds but could recall letters and digits.
• This suggests that just his phonological loop had been damaged leaving other areas of memory intact.
• supports the existence of a separate visual and acoustic store.
• However, evidence from brain-damaged patients may not be reliable because it concerns unique cases with patients who have had traumatic experiences.

Question 2

Dual task performances - baddeley et al (1975)

Answer 2

• dual-task performance support the separate existence of the visuo-spatial sketchpad.
• Baddeley et al. (1975) showed that participants had more difficulty doing two visual tasks than doing both a visual and verbal task at the same time.
• This increased difficulty is because both visual tasks compete for the same slave system whereas, when doing a verbal and visual task simultaneously, there is no competition.
• This means there must be a separate slave system (the VSS) that processes visual input.

Question 3

Limitation - lack of clarity over central executive ( Alan baddeley)

Answer 3

• Cognitive psychologists suggest that this component of the WMM is unsatisfactory and doesn’t really explain anything.
• Alan Baddeley recognised this when he said: ‘The central executive is the most important but the least understood component of working memory’ (Baddeley, 2003).
• The central executive needs to be more clearly specified than just being simply ‘attention’.
• For example, some psychologists believe it may consist of separate components.
• This means that the WMM hasn’t been fully explained.