Working Memory Model

• Wha are the components of the working memory model?

  visuo-spatial sketchpad, phonological loop, episodic buffer, the LTM and the central executive
• who proposed the working memory model?

  Baddeley and Hitch in 1974
• what does the Working model of memory propose?

  it is an explanation of the short term memory as to how it functions and how it is organised
• what are the fact about the central executive?


  it is an attention process

  it monitors slave systems

  allocates slave systems to information

  makes decisions about the data

  has a limited capacity but can process info for any sensory memory store
• what are the facts of the phonological loop?


  it is a slave system

  holds auditory information in speech based form

  preserves the order of information

  has two parts: the phonological store and the articulatory control system

  • the phonological store hods information and words that you hear
  • the articulatory control system allows maintenance rehearsal and has a capacity of 2 secs
• what are the facto of the Visio-spatial sketchpad?


  stores visual and spatial information

  has a limited capacity of 4 objects

  it has two parts to it: the visual cache and the inner scribe

  • the inner scribe allows for visual rehearsal mechanism & records arrangement of the visual field
  • the visual cache stores visual data
• what are the facts about the episodic buffer?


  is a temporary store

  integrates visual, spatial and verbal information

  maintains time sequencing and records episodes tat occur

  is a storage component of the central executive

  has a limited capacity of 4 chunks

  also integrates information from the long term memory
• An evaluation point of the WMM


  strength: case study KF(clinical study) - shows STM isn’t a unitary store because KF had amnesia

  he could recall aloud information that he read to himself, but couldn’t recall the words when they were read to him

  this supports the model because as it supports the idea of the phonological loop and the visuo—spatial sketchpad and that they are separate parts of the memory

  this was proposed by Shallice and Warrington
• another evaluation of WMM?


  weakness: clinical evidence of KF: small sample of a case study so the findings can’t be generalised

  • no control over variables the event
  • No evidence of what happened before the accident
  • Can only indicate that KF has two separate memory components
• 3rd evaluation of WMM?


  strength:

  Dual-task studies by Baddeley et al 1975: splitting the attention between two tasks

  • performed better during 2 different tasks eg. visual and acoustic than those who performed 2 of the same tasks

  this supports the model as it shows that two separate stores are being used. And it shows that 2 separate stores exist e.g the phonological loop and the VSS
• 4th evaluation of the WMM


  weakness: lack of clarity over the central executive:

  cognitive psychologist say that there is no clear explanation of the central executive

  ‘seen as the most important but the least understood’ - Baddeley and Alan in 2003

  the attention needs to be explained further

  this means that the WMM is not fully explained and therefore it criticises the model, proving that memory is hard to measure
• last evaluation of WMM


  strength/weakness: validity in lab studies

  strength: internal validity - has good control over variables and measures the DV

  weakness: lacks ecological validity - cannot be realistic to the real world, poor external validity
• how is the DV measured in a laboratory study?in the eval of WMM

  by manipulation of the IV