Working memory model

• Who was the WMM created by?

  Baddeley and Hitch
• why was the WMM created?

  Baddeley and Hitch questioned the MSM, believing the short term store was more than a single store. Instead, they saw the short term memory as an active store, that holds several pieces of info whilst being worked on
• Define the central executive

  monitors and coordinates all other mental functions in working memory.
• Define the episodic buffer

  receives input from many sources, temporarily stores this info, then integrates it in order to construct a mental episode of what is being expected
• Define phonological loop

  codes speech sounds in working memory, typically involving maintenances rehearsal.
• Define Visuo-spatial sketch pad

  codes visual information in terms of separate objects as well as the arrangement of these objects in ones visual field.
• What is the role of the central executive?

  • it acts as a filter to monitor incoming info; deciding which information is paid attention to.
  • It makes decision and deals with cognitive tasks.
  • Directs information to other slave systems
  • Has a limited capacuity, can only cope with one strand of information
  • Can process information from any sensory system.
• what is the role of the phonological loop?

  • Deals with auditory information, preserves the order of it.
  • Has two subdivisions- the phonological store and an articulately process
  • The phonological store holds the words you hear, like the inner ear
  • The articulately process is used for words heard or seen. They are silently repeated.
• what is the role of Visuo-spatial sketchpad?

  • temporary store for the relationship between visual and spatial items
  • helps individuals navigate around and interact with their physical environment
  • limited capacity of around 3/4 items
  • divided into a visual cache and inner scribe
  • visual cache- stores information about visual items
  • inner scribe- stores arrangement of objects in the visual field
• what is the role of the episodic buffer?

  • the general store, which combines information from the CE, PL, VSS and LTM.
  • has a limited capacity of 4 chunks, and can process information from any sensory system.
  • sends information to the LTM
• What is the capacity of the central executive?

  1 strand of information
• what is the capacity of the phonological loop?

  limited- its determined by how much can be spoken in 2 seconds.
• what is the capacity of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?

  3-4 items
• evaluation point 1 WMM- Case studies

  POINT- One strength is there’s research support via case studies to provide evidence that the memory stores are not unitary

  EVIDENCE— Shallice and Warrington reported the case of KF- who was brain damaged as a result of a motorcycle accident. They found his STM could not process verbal information, but could process visual information.

  EXPLAIN- Therefore, there is evidence in support of the working memory model, as it states that visual and auditory material are held separately in the STM store. this also provides evidence that the STM cannot be unitary
• evaluation point 2 WMM- contradicting research

  POINT- One weakness is there is research which goes against certain key ideas.

  EVIDENCE- Bertz demonstrated that participants could listen to instrumental music without impairing performance on other acoustic tasks. the research indicated that it was possible for 2 auditory tasks to be completed at the same time.

  EXPLAIN- The working memory model states that the PL does not allow 2 tasks to be completed at the same time due to a limited capacity.But both tasks used the phonological loop and completed tasks successfully, going against WMM.
• evaluation point 3- central executive

  POINT- There is evidence that contradics the WMM, particularly the CE.

  EVIDENCE- EVR had a cerebral tumour removed after which he performed well on tests requiring reasoning, however his decision making skills were poor.

  EXPLAIN- The model suggests the CE is a single store, but many believe it must be subdivided. The evidence shows that different tasks performed by the CE had different amounts of damage, suggesting that its more than a single store.

  LINK- So, the research decreases the validity of the WMM.