Working memory model

Question 1

what is the intro to WMM ao1?

Answer 1

Baddeley and Hitch proposed that the WMM as an explanation of how the STM works

they proposed that the STM was not a unitary store (like MSM predicts) but several diff stores which are all connected but work independently

Question 2

what is central executive?

Answer 2

• attentional process that monitors incoming data and decides what needs to be done and when
• DELEGATES tasks accordingly to the slave system it can code any type of information
• keeps an eye 👁 on what is happening in the slave systems and takes over most demanding tasks where necessary
• any task that is new/requires concentration (attention) will overload the central executive as it has very limited capacity

Question 3

what is phonological loop ao1?

Answer 3

• auditory information passed from CE to phonological loop

baddeley further subdivided PL into two parts
> phonological store - stores words we hear like an inner ear

the PL has LIMITED CAPACITY and CODES ACOUSTICALLY 👂
> articulatory loop - silently repeats words that are seen or heard to keep them in memory like an inner voice (maintenance rehearsal)

Question 4

what is ao1 for visuo-spatial sketchpad?

Answer 4

• visual information passed from CE to VSS like an inner eye 👁
• responsible for setting up mental images and is what u use if you must plan spatial tasks eg GIVING DIRECTIONS
• temporarily stores VISUAL (what things look like) and SPATIAL ( the physical rs between things) info

VSS has limited capacity (3-4) objects and codes visually

Question 5

what did logie subdivide VSS into?

Answer 5

the visual cache - stores visual data

the inner scribe - records the arrangement of objects in visual field

Question 6

what is ao1 for the episodic buffer ?

Answer 6

• this is a general store later added by baddeley and hitch in 2000
• EB collects and combines info from CE, PL and VSS to record an event (episode)
• EB transfers information to LTM used to retrieve information from LTM to STM

EB has LIMITED CAPACITY ( 4 chunks) and can code any type of information

Question 7

What is RTS for WMM?

Answer 7

P - conducted by Shallice and Warrington on patient KF , who suffered from amnesia

E - found that KF’s recall for digits was very poor when digits were read aloud to him 📖
but recall was much better when KF cud see 👁 digits himself

L - this supports the WMM because it suggests that there must be different stores within STM one to process visual info (VSS) one to process auditory info (PL) as Pl was damaged VSS intact

Question 8

what is discussion point for shallice and warrington?

Answer 8

P - critics argue case study to support WMM flawed as it has low pop val

E - R was a case study of just one person patient KF who has an unusual illness involving damage to the brain

L - therefore diff to GF to wider pop as their STM may operate diff thus limiting support that R provides for WMM

Question 9

What is the must learn evaluation

Answer 9

P - Studies of dual task performance support the notion that there are separate components within the STM
an that they have a limited capacity.

E- eg Baddeley et al found that ppt had more difficulty when performing two visual tasks at the same time (using a pointer to track a light moving around a screen and imagining a capital letter ‘F’ and mentally moving the letter) than when performing one of the
visual tasks alone or one of the visual tasks with a verbal task (such as saying ‘the’ repeatedly).
E - This supports the WMM assumptions BECAUSE it suggests that both Visual tasks are competing for limited capacity of the
same slave system (VSS) whereas when doing a verbal and visual task simultaneously, they are DELEGATED to separate slave systems (VSS and PL) and performance is not reduced as there is no competition for capacity.
L - Therefore, the credibility of the WMM as a model of memory is increased.