Working Memory Model

Question 1

▲ How does patient KF support the WMM?

Answer 1

He had poor auditory but good visual STM

Question 2

● What is the role of the phonological loop?

Answer 2

Processes auditory information

Question 3

▲ How does the central executive coordinate memory tasks?

Answer 3

By allocating resources to slave systems

Question 4

● What part of KF’s memory was damaged?

Answer 4

Phonological loop

Question 5

● What part of KF’s memory remained intact?

Answer 5

Visual memory

Question 6

✪ Why does the central executive lack clarity in the WMM?

Answer 6

It is described vaguely as a single component of attention with limited understanding of its exact function.

Question 7

● What type of processor is memory in the WMM?

Answer 7

Active

Question 8

▲ Why is the phonological loop split into two parts?

Answer 8

To process sound and speech

Question 9

● What year was the working memory model proposed?

Answer 9

1974

Question 10

✪ Why might lab-based dual task studies lack ecological validity?

Answer 10

They involve artificial tasks not reflective of real-world memory usage.

Question 11

✪ What does the flexibility of WMM components suggest about STM?

Answer 11

That it is active and adaptable, unlike the passive STM described in the MSM.

Question 12

● What does WMM suggest about STM?

Answer 12

It has multiple components

Question 13

● What combination of tasks did not impair performance?

Answer 13

One visual and one verbal task

Question 14

● What does the visuo-spatial sketchpad process?

Answer 14

Visual and spatial information

Question 15

✪ How does patient KF’s case support the separate components of STM in the WMM?

Answer 15

He had impaired verbal memory but intact visual memory, showing STM is not unitary.

Question 16

✪ Why is dual task research strong support for the WMM?

Answer 16

Participants performed worse with two visual tasks, showing that STM has multiple components with limited capacity.

Question 17

▲ What does dual task research suggest about the phonological loop?

Answer 17

It has limited capacity

Question 18

● What model did Baddeley and Hitch propose?

Answer 18

Working memory model

Question 19

● What store processes language and sound?

Answer 19

Phonological loop

Question 20

▲ Why is the WMM more detailed than the MSM?

Answer 20

It splits STM into multiple stores

Question 21

▲ What type of information does the episodic buffer combine?

Answer 21

Verbal, visual, and LTM

Question 22

● What store handles directions and layout?

Answer 22

Visuo-spatial sketchpad

Question 23

▲ Why did participants struggle with two visual tasks?

Answer 23

Both used the visuo-spatial sketchpad

Question 24

● Who was patient KF?

Answer 24

A case study supporting WMM

Question 25

▲ What does dual task performance research show?

Answer 25

Separate STM stores exist

Question 26

✪ Why is WMM more valid than MSM in explaining STM tasks?

Answer 26

WMM is supported by dual task and case study evidence showing functional separation.

Question 27

● What is the episodic buffer?

Answer 27

Integrates information from other stores

Question 28

▲ How does the visuo-spatial sketchpad contribute to STM?

Answer 28

It stores spatial and visual details

Question 29

▲ Why was performance better with a visual and verbal task?

Answer 29

They used separate slave systems

Question 30

● What dual task affected performance most?

Answer 30

Two visual tasks

Question 31

● What is the central executive responsible for?

Answer 31

Delegating tasks

Question 32

✪ How does WMM explain performance differences in dual tasks?

Answer 32

Separate slave systems are overloaded when used simultaneously, affecting performance.

Question 33

✪ Why might the case study of KF lack population validity?

Answer 33

It involved one person with brain damage, limiting generalisability to others.

Question 34

✪ How does Shallice and Warrington’s research challenge the unitary view of STM?

Answer 34

Their study on KF found differing STM performance across modalities, contradicting the MSM’s unitary STM.

Question 35

✪ How does the lack of research into the central executive weaken the WMM?

Answer 35

Without clear evidence or definition, its function remains unclear, limiting the model’s explanatory power.