The WWM

• Overview:

  Baddeley and Hitch proposed the WMM, an explanation of how STM is organised and how it functions.

  Concerning the part of the mind that's active when storing and manipulating information. Consisting of 4 main components; each differing in capacity and coding.
• Central Executive:

  An attentional process which monitors incoming data, makes decisions, and allocates slave systems to tasks. It has a very limited processing capacity.
• Phonological Loop:

  The slave system which deals with auditory information, coding is acoustic. It then preserves the order in which information arrives. It is sub-divided into:

  Phonological Store- storing the words you hear.

  Articulatory Process- allows maintenance rehearsal (repeating sounds in a loop to keep them in STM), duration of 2 seconds.
• Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad:

  Stores visual and/or spatial information when required. It has a limited capacity of 3 to 4 objects according to Baddeley. Logie sub-divided VSS into:

  Visual Cache- storing visual data

  Inner Scribe- records the arrangement of objects within a visual field.
• Episodic Buffer:

  Added to the model by Baddeley; a temporary store for information- integrating visual, spatial and auditory processed by other stores. Maintains a sense of time sequencing as it records events that are happening. Seen as a storage component of the Central Executive and has a limited capacity of 4 chunks. It links working memory to LTM and wider cognitive processes (like perception).
• AO3: Clinical Evidence

  Support comes from Shallice and Warrington's case-study of patient KF. Had poor ability to process verbal information, but could process visually- implying that his phonological loop had been damaged.

  IDA: Individual Differences, Idiographic
• AO3: Dual-Task Performance

  Supports the separation of VSS and PL. Baddeley showed that p's had more difficulty doing 2 visual tasks (tracking light and describing the letter 'F') than doing a visual and a verbal task at the same time. This increased difficulty is due to both tasks competing with the same slave system- when tasks are done simultaneously, there is no competition.
• AO3: Lack of Clarity over CE

  Suggested that the component is unsatisfactory and doesn't explain anything. Baddeley recognised it is a crucial element, but the least understood. It needs to be more clearly specified than just being 'attention'.

  Some psychologists argue it may consist of separate components- meaning the WMM isn't fully explained.
• AO3: Studies of Word Length Support PL

  Baddeley showed that people find it more difficult to remember a list of long words than short words; called the word length effect. There is a finite space for rehearsal in the AP (2 seconds). This effect disappears when a person is given an articulatory suppression task (a task which ties up the AP like saying 'lalala').
• AO3: Brain Scanning Supports WMM

  Braver et al gave p's tasks which involved their central executive whilst having a brain scan. Researchers found greater activity in the left prefrontal cortex. This activity increased as the task became harder- so as the demands of the CE increase, it has to work harder to fulfill its function.

  Reliable and objective technique.