Working memory model

Question 1

Working Memory Model

Answer 1

• Proposed by Baddeley and Hitch
• STM is made up of several different stores
• Made up of 4 components: Central executive, and (slave systems) Visual spatial sketchpad, Phonological loop, Episodic buffer
• LIMITED CAPACITY for all stores

Question 2

Slave systems/stores

Answer 2

temporary stores that free up the capacity in the central executive to deal with other demanding tasks

Question 3

Central Executive

Answer 3

• Controls slave systems
• Allocates slave systems to tasks
• Can process information from any sensory system

Question 4

Visual spatial sketchpad

Answer 4

• Holds visual + spacial information
• Temporary memory system

Question 5

Phonological loop

Answer 5

• Holds speech based information
• Phonological store= the inner ear (stores words you hear)
• Articulatory process= inner voice

Question 6

Episodic loop

Answer 6

• Brings visual,verbal + spacial info together
• Temporary store
• Records events happening - makes sense of things

Question 7

Evaluation

Answer 7

+ KF
+ Baddeley et al
- Central executive
+ Brain scans

Question 8

KF

Answer 8

Shallice and Warrington (1970) studied KF a patient with amnesia
* LTM was left intact
* STM could deal with new visual info but not verbal
* It supports the existence of a seperate visual and acoustic store in the STM
* His visual sketchpad remained undamaged but his phonological loop was affected by the crash
- This supportive evidence lacks population validity because the KF case study is unrepresentive to the wider population

Question 9

Baddeley et al

Answer 9

• Conducted a lab experiment using the repeated measure design
• Condition 1- ppts were asked to follow a spot of light and describe the angles of the shape of the letter F
• Condition 2- ppts were saked to follow a spot of light and perform a verbal task at the same time
• Ppts had more difficulty doing 2 visual tasks
• Both visual tasks compete for the same slave system, whereas doing a verbal + visual task, there is no competition
• Suggests that there must be seperate slave systems outlined by the working memory model
  - Risk of practice effects due to the use of repeated measures and low ecological validity due to the use of lab experiment

Question 10

Central executive

Answer 10

• Lack of clarity over the central executive
• Psychologists suggest that this component is the least understood
• Needs to be more clearly defined + specified because some psychologists believe that it may consist of seperate components
• Reduces the internal validity of the model because its not fully and accurately explained

Question 11

Brain scans

Answer 11

• Braver et al (1997) gave ppts tasks that involved the central executive while undergoing a brain scan
• A higher level of activity in the left prefrontal cortex
• Activity levels increased as tasks became more difficult
• Shows that there is physical reality to the central executive (scientific evidence to show that this store does exist)