What is the aim of the WMM
To explain STM as an active system with multiple components for different types of processing
What are the components of the WMM
Central executive
Phonological loop
Visuospatial sketchpad
Episodic buffer
What evidence supports separate stores in the WMM
Dual task studies - doing two verbal tasks is harder than a verbal and visual task - separate systems
What is a major criticism of the WMM
The central executive is vague and difficult to test
Application of WMM
The model has been applied successfully to helping children with dyslexia and memory impairments so it has a credible use in society
Credibility of WMM
There is credible evidence to support the existence of distinct components, for example the case of KF who had unaffected visuospatial STM but impaired phonological STM
Credibility of WMM
The case of VP, who could retain vocabulary from a second language, gives credibility to speech based processing in the phonological loop component
Reductionism in the WMM
The WMM isn’t a credible explanation of memory processes because it doesn’t fully consider transference to or recall from the LTM
Differences of the WMM
Lieberman criticizes the visuospatial sketchpad as people who are blind can have spatial awareness without visual input, which reduces the credibility of the VSS as a single component
Objections of WMM
PET scans have been inconclusive in locating where central executive functioning takes place, bringing its credibility into question
