The Working Memory Model

• The model was developed by

  Baddeley and Hitch (1974) and

  suggests that STM is made up

  of a number of separate

  processors
• The model was developed by using dual-task research, where participants do 2 tasks simultaneously
• What are the 4 processors in the working memory model?

  Central executive

  phonological loop

  visuo-spatial sketchpad

  episodic buffer
• Central executive acts as a filter to determine which information from the senses is and isn’t attended to.
• The central executive is the main controller, it co-ordinates the activities of the other processors, directing information to the processors.
• What is the coding of the central executive?

  any type of information
• What is the capacity of the central executive?

  Limited (Eysenck suggests about 4 items at once)
• What is the coding of the phonological loop?


  responsible for processing sound / speech based information
• What are the 2 sub components of the phonological loop?

  The articulatory rehearsal process (inner voice)

  The phonological store (inner ear)
• In the phonological loop, what is the articulatory rehearsal process?


  (the inner voice) is a verbal rehearsal system. It is used to prepare speech and to think in words.
• In the phonological loop, what is the phonological store?

  (the inner ear), is a auditory

  rehearsal system. It processes sound based information.
• what is the capacity of the phonological loop?

  2 seconds worth of information
• Word length effect - Baddeley et al

  Baddeley et al. showed participants lists of words, displayed quickly, one after the other.

  • There were 2 conditions: monosyllabic (one-syllable words) and polysyllabic words.

  • Baddeley found that participants recalled the one- syllable words better than the polysyllabic words.

  • This provides evidence for the time based capacity of the phonological loop.
• In the phonological loop, what is the visuo spatial sketchpad?

  This is the inner eye. It is a rehearsal system where we can imagine and manipulate visual and spatial

  information.
• What is the coding of the visuo spatial sketchpad?

  Information is coded and rehearsed through the use of mental pictures
• What is the capacity of the visuo spatial sketchpad?

  approx 4 items - Vogel et al

  he presented a display of between 3 and 12 objects.

  Then a second display was presented, that was either identical to the first, or with one object changed.

  Participants’ ability to state whether the 2nd display was the same was almost perfect with 4 objects, then

  progressively got worse as the display grew larger.
• What is the coding of the episodic buffer?

  It can bind together information from the Central Executive, the Phonological Loop and Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad in STM, as well as

  LTM.
• What is the capacity of the episodic buffer?

  Very limited (about 4 chunks of integrated information) - Eysenck
• Evaluation of working memory

  model

  The working memory model is a much more detailed

  and flexible alternative explanation of the STM store of

  the Multi-Store Model.

  This is because it allows for the processing of a variety of types of information (auditory & visual) whereas the STM in the multi-store model only deals with acoustic

  processing.
• Evaluation of working memory model

  The model can explain the findings from dual-task

  studies where participants can do two tasks at the same time (because they are using different processors). The multi-store model cannot explain this.
• Evaluation

  The model can explain performance on every day

  tasks, such as reading a book.

  E.g. the articulatory rehearsal process will allow you to 'say' the words in your head whilst the phonological store 'listens to you reading' and the Visuo-Spatial

  Sketchpad will allow you to visualise the scene. Also, when you pick the book back up the next day you

  remember what had happened before (LTM).
• Evaluation

  The concept of a unitary visuo-spatial sketchpad maybe incorrect:

  Smith and Jonides (1999) found that PET scans showed brain activation in the left hemisphere with visual tasks, but activation in the right hemisphere with spatial tasks.

  This suggests that the visuo-spatial sketchpad is potentially made up of two separate sub-components,

  rather than just one like the model suggests.
• Evaluation

  Least is known about the most important component: the Central Executive. The concept of the CE has been criticised for being rather vague and we don't know how it works.
• Evaluation

  Eysenck (2015) argues that the model is oversimplified as it does not account for processing of all types of information e.g. touch, taste or smell.