what does the working memory model address?
Addresses only one aspect of memory the Short-Term Memory
What is the role of the Central Executive?
- Monitors and coordinates all mental functions in the working memory
What is the role of the Episodic Buffer?
- receives input from many sources,temporarily stores this information and integrates it in order to construct a mental episode of what is being experienced.
What is the role of a phonological loop?
- Codes speech sounds in the working memory, involving maintenance rehearsal(repetition of words again and again).
This is why it is considered to be a loop
What is the role of a visuo-sketchpad?
- codes visual information in terms of seperate objects
What is the role of the Working memory model?
explaination of the memory used when working on a task.
Baddeledy and Hitch(1974) feel like STM is not only one store, but multiple different ones
As when performing a dual task and they both are visual tasks, you will perform less well in them,than if you do it seperately.
- If you do two things at the same time and one visual whereas one invovles sound thers is no interference . You would do them well separately as you would simultaneously.
Suggesting there is two seperate stores, one for visual processing and a seperate store for processing sounds. This is the basis of the working memory model,where the slave systems are organised by a central executive.
What is the function of the Central executive?
To direct attention to particular tasks, determining at any time how the brain ‘resources’ are allocated to tasks.
Data arrives from the senses or from long-term memory. It has a very limited capacity.
Cant attend many things at once and has no capacity for strong data.
What are the three slave systems
- phonological loop
- Visuo-spatial Sketchpad
- Episodic buffer
What is the role for Phonological loop?
deals with auditory information and preserves the order of information
what is the capacity of Phonological loop?
has a limited capacity
Baddeley(1986) has divided this phonological loop into parts:
1) The phonological store holds the words you hear(like an inner ear)
2) A articulatory process, which is used for words that are heard or seen. These words are silently repeated, like an inner voice. This is a form of maintenance rehearsal.
Visuo-spatial sketchpad
- used when you have to plan a spatial task
- Visual/Spatial information is stored here temporarily.
What is visual and spatial information?
visual information- what things look like
spatial information- is the physical relationship between things
Logie (1995) suggested that the visuo-spatial sketchpad can be divided into:
- A Visual Cache, that stores infornation about visual items
- An Inner scribe, that stores the arranegment of objects in the visual held
What is the role of the Episodic BUffer?
- integrates information from the central executive, the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad.
- maintains a sense of time sequencing- records episodes that are happening.
- The episodic buffer sends information to the LTM
What are the properties of Episdoic Buffer?
- limited capacity
- holds information that related to both visual and acoustic information
Evulations of the Working Memory Model?
- Dual task performance
- ## brain damage evidence to support WMM
Evulations of the Working Memory Model?
- Dual task performance
- brain damage evidence to support WMM
- the case studies cannot be used as evidence for WMM
- evidence for the phonological loop and articulatory process
- central executive being too vague
Dual task performance(strength)
- WSM account for dual task performance. Hitch and Baddeley(1976) support the existence of the central existence
- in a study in task1 it occupied the central executive and task 2 either invovled the articulatory loop or invovled both central executive and the articulatory loop. Task 1 was slower than task2 involving both central executive and the articulatory loop.
Overall demonstrating the dual task performance effect and shows that the central executive is one of the components of working memory.
Studies with those with brain damage support the WSM model
Shallice and Warrington(1970) studied a man called KF, whose short-term forgetting auditory information was greater than the visual stimuli. His auditory problems were limited to the verbal material eg:letters and digits but not meaningful sounds. His brain was only restricted to the phonological loop.
Grossi and Trojano in 1995, studied a patient called SC, who generally had good learning abilities, but wasnt able to learn word pairs taht were presented out loud. This suggests a damage to the phonological loop.
Farah et al(1988) studied a patient named LH, who was involved in a road accident, he performed better on spatial taks than those involving visual memory.
This overall,supports the idea of seperate visual and spatial systems which are described in the WMM.
There are using case studies as evidences…(against)
1) As the person has a traumatic brain injury, it may result in a change of behaviour, so their person performs worse on particular tasks.
2) Certain individuals may have difficulties such as not being able to pay attention, therfore they may underperform in certain roles.
3) The case studies are from individuals, which cannot be comparable/gernalised for the whole population.
This is an issue for WMM, as the main evidence for WMM is case studies.
contradicts
Evidence for the phonological loop and articulary process(FOR)
strength of WMM is lies in phonological loo[ and it explaination of the word-length effect. People cope better with short words than long words in working memory(STM)
- phonological loop holds information that you can say in 2 seconds(Baddeledy et al 1975) . Making it hard to remember a list of long words compared to short words. Longer words cant be rehearsed on phonological loop as they dont fit. However, word-length effect is removed if person given an articulatory suppression task. The repetition ties with articulatory process, means you cant rehearse short words more quickly than longer ones,so the word-length effect disappears.
Evidence for articulatory process- which is a key component of WMM
Some Psychologists argue that the central executive is too vague, and doesnt explain anything
- all the CE does is allocate resources and does the same as attention
- psychologists argue that the CE is wrong and probably has several components
- Eslinger and Damasio(1985) studied ‘EVR’ who had a cerebal tumour removed.
- Performed well on tests requiring reasoning, suggesting his CE was intact. However,he has poor decision-making skills,which suggests that CE wasnt intact.
- CE is unsatisfactory overall,and more complex than Baddeledy and HItch orginally suggested.
