WMM

• Who created the working memory model?

  Baddeley and Hitch
• the central executive: brings attention to the task, allocates resources to the task, and monitors performance.
• the episodic buffer: receives input from the STM and integrates the information to create a mental episode.
• phonological loop: holds information about words and their sounds, involved with maintenance rehearsal. it has a limited capacity.
• visuo-spatial sketchpad: a mental representation of the spatial relationships between objects and the locations of objects in the visual field.
• Strength of the WMM

  Evidence for the phonological loop through its explanation of the word length effect. Word length effect disappears if given an articulatory suppression task (‘repeating the, the, the) as rehearsal is stopped. the phonological loop explains articulatory process; key component of WMM.
• weakness of WMM

  Case studies from brain damaged patients is unreliable evidence. Brain damage can change behaviour or ability to make an individual perform worse on a task, mental issues affect attention span. lots of key research about the WMM comes from these case studies, and the results cannot be generalised.
• The phonological loop is comprised of the articulatory process (where the brain holds words) and the phonological store (Where heard sounds/words are stored).
• The visuospatial sketchpad is comprised of the inner scribe (records spatial movement) and the visual cache (stores info about the nature/form of the object).
• Evaluation of the central executive

  + Baddeley’s dual task effect. Doing two tasks at once makes it difficult for CE to simultaneously alocate brain‘s resources.

  -Lack of detail in role of the CE. Difficulties with operationalising and measuring components. No empirical evidence to support its existence. Relies on highly controlled lab studies so high internal validity but low ecological validity.