WMM

Question 1

who did the wmm + draw

Answer 1

Baddeley + Hitch (1974)

Question 2

central executive

Answer 2

• CEO
• not a memory store - it cannot store memories, rather processes them
• limited capacity
• driving force of the WMM, decides which tasks are assigned to the phonological loop or visuo-spacial sketchpad
• considered the most important part of working memory - it controls attention and coordinates the actions of the other components
• it can briefly store information, but has a limited capacity.
• The central executive is modality free, which means that it can store information in any sense form.

mark scheme:
- the central executive has a supervisory function and controls the slave systems
- it has limited cap but can process info from any sensory modality

Question 3

phonological loop

Answer 3

• deals with auditory information
• limited capacity (time based cap around 2 secs)
• limited duration - 1.5-2 secs (Baddeley)
• phonological store - stores/holds acoustic information
• articulatory control system/process translates written words into speech. rehearses info verbally from phonological store

mark scheme:
- the phonological loop is a limited cap, temporary storage system for holding verbal info in a speech based form

Question 4

Visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 4

• visual information
• limited cap, limited duration
• visual cache stores information about form and colour (visual information). stores visual data
• inner scribe contains spatial and movement-related information and rehearses information which is then stored in the visual cache (spatial awareness). records the arrangement of objects in the visual field

mark scheme:
- the visuo-spatial sketchpad is a limited cap, temporary memory system for holding visual and spatial information

Question 5

episodic buffer

Answer 5

• added to the model in 2000, arranges information into ‘packets’ and, when the time is right, it moves this information to other systems in a way which makes sense for the individual and which follows a set sequence
• universal temporary store, introduced in 2000 (Baddeley)
• limited cap (about 4 chunks)

Question 6

LTM

Question 7

AO3

Answer 7

• +ve case studies: K.F. could recall verbal but not visual info immediately after presentation - supports idea of separate stores –> weakness of case studies: abnormal cases, only look after damage caused
• +ve model based on lab experiments - reliable, variables controlled –> however lacks ecological validity
• +ve dual task performance, we struggle to do two visual tasks at once as they fight for the same resources
• +ve Braner et al found activity for central executive in pre-frontal cortex, the harder the task, the more activation
• -ve clarity of the central executive - most important section but has the least research + v difficult to test