the working memory model

• the working memory model is an explanation of how short term memory is organised and how it functions
• working memory model focuses on parts of the mind which are active when storing and manipulating language
• the central executive monitors incoming data, makes decisions and allocates slave systems
• the central executive has a limited capacity where it cant attend to too many things because it has no capacity for storing
• the central executive is coded in may ways because it needs to be able to create different information in different ways in order to process all incoming data
• the phonological loop is a slave system which deals with auditory information
• the phonological loop has the capacity of 2 seconds
• the phonological loop acoustically codes information
• the phonological loop is divided into 2 parts including phonology store and articulatory control system
• the phonological store is the inner ear which stores the words you hear
• the articulatory control system is the inner voice which stores the words that are heard - tend to be silently repeated which form maintenance rehearsal to keep in working memory model
• the visuo spatial sketchpad is slave system which stores visual/spatial information
• information in the visuospatial sketchpad are coded visually
• the visuospatial sketchpad has the capacity of 3/4 items
• Logie suggested visuospatial sketchpad can be divided into 2 parts

  • visual cache - stores visual data
  • inner scribe - records arrangement of data in visual field
• the episodic buffer is the slave system which is the temporary store for visual information where it integrates visual and verbal information processed by other stores - records everything that is happening
• the episodic buffer links the working memory to long term memory and wider cognitive processes
• the episodic buffer has the capacity of 4 chunks
• the episodic buffer has multiple ways of coding as it needs to manipulate all information
• working memory model

  A) central executive

  B) articulatory control system

  C) visuospatial sketcpad

  D) phonological loop

  
• evaluation for working memory model - Patient KF

  • shallice and warrington (1970s) studied KF who suffered brain damage he had poor STM ability for verbal info but could process visual info
  • suggests phonological loop had been damaged but rest of memory was intact
  • case study provides evidence there are separate visual and acoustic stores in memory (goes against MSM as it states in sensory register both iconic and echoic stores are processed in same store)
  • however, limitation to this research- it is not likely to be applied to wider population because case study takes idiographic approach
• evaluation for working memory model - Baddeley and Hitch

  • research support showed if 2 tasks require different components then performance will be okay, if 2 tasks require same component then performance suffers
  • conducted study looking at use of phonological loop and central executive
  • found when 2 tasks used same component it caused difficulty, but there wasnt difficulty when 2 tasks used 2 separate components
  • supports WMM as it says each component of model has limited capacity so assumed it cant do 2 things at same time
• evaluation for working memory model - unclear role of CE

  • role of central executive is not clear - seems to allocate resources and be same as attention but function is not explained further
  • psychologists suggested CE may consist of separate components which is supported by case study of EVR (could complete reasoning tasks but not make decisions) - both reasoning and decisions are functions of CE which suggests there may be more than 1 store
  • WMM has not been fully explained in depth limiting the validity of model