Working memory model

Question 1

what is the WMM an explanation for?

Answer 1

STM only

Question 2

who developed the WMM and why?

Answer 2

Baddeley and Hitch because the MSM doesn’t account that STM is not a single store

Question 3

what does the WMM explain?

Answer 3

how STM is organised and how it functions.
It explains how the mind is active when we are temporarily storing and manipulating information

Question 4

what are the 4 stores of the WMM?

Answer 4

-central executive
-phonological loop
-visuo-spatial sketchpad
-episodic buffer

Question 5

what does the phonological loop branch into?

Answer 5

phonological store and articulatory loop

Question 6

what does the visuo-spatial sketchpad branch into?

Answer 6

inner scribe and visual cache

Question 7

what is the central executive and what is its function?

Answer 7

an attentional process that monitors incoming information

it solves problems, makes decisions and allocates tasks to the two slave systems (PL and VSS)

Question 8

what is the capacity of the central executive?

Answer 8

limited/ no capacity

Question 9

what does the phonological loop do?

Answer 9

deals with auditory information and preserves the order of information

Question 10

what does the phonological store branch do?

Answer 10

holds words in your ear like the inner ear

Question 11

what does the articulatory loop do?

Answer 11

silently repeats words- like the inner voice- as a rehearsal process

Question 12

what is the capacity of the phonological loop?

Answer 12

about two seconds worth of what you can say

Question 13

what does the visuo-spatial sketchpad do?

Answer 13

deals with visual and spatial tasks

Question 14

what is the capacity of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?

Answer 14

about 3 or 4 objects

Question 15

what does the visual cache do?

Answer 15

stores visual data

Question 16

what does the inner scribe do?

Answer 16

records spatial arrangement of objects

Question 17

when did Baddeley add the episodic buffer and why?

Answer 17

2000 because the model lacked a general store

Question 18

what is the function of the episodic buffer?

Answer 18

integrate and store information temporarily from the other 3 components

transfers information to and from LTM

Question 19

what is the capacity of the episodic buffer?

Answer 19

four chunks of info

Question 20

explain how the WMM argues the STM actively processes information, rather than the MSM?

Answer 20

information goes into the central executive who sends info to the slave stores, info is integrated and temporarily stored in the episodic buffer.

Question 21

what happened to KF?

Answer 21

suffered brain damage in motorbike accident, KF could recall information that he read (VSS) but not if it was read to him(PL)

Question 22

why does the case of KF support the model?

Answer 22

shows STM is not a single store, it must be made up of separate components for visual and verbal information

Question 23

what is a counter point for the case of KF?

Answer 23

he had unique brain damage so we can’t make assumptions about how everyone’s brain works based on one case study

Question 24

what do dual tasks show that supports the model ?

Answer 24

people have great difficulty doing two tasks that use the same component of the working memory

Question 25

what two groups did the Baddeley et al 1975 study involve?

Answer 25

group 1 - describe letter F and track beam of light group 2 - complete a verbal task and track a beam of light

Question 26

why did the verbal task group do better in the Baddeley research?

Answer 26

verbal task = PL track beam = VSS describe letter F= VSS track beam = VSS harder to do two tasks using same component

Question 27

how do dual task studies support the working memory model?

Answer 27

shows PL and VSS must be separate components, also shows they both have a limited capacity

Question 28

what real life application can we give dual studies?

Answer 28

listening to music with words and trying to write an essay overloads the PL so should be avoided

Question 29

how is brain scan evidence a strength of the working memory model?

Answer 29

studies show different parts of the brain are involved in auditory and visual tasks

Question 30

give an example of how brain scan evidence supports the WMM?

Answer 30

different parts of the brain are active when doing tasks using a different component of the model e.g. the PL, VSS and CE e.g. Broca's and Wernicke's area in the left hemisphere are active when using PL whereas back of brain (occipital lobe) is active when using VSS.

Question 31

how does brain scan evidence support the WMM?

Answer 31

shows each component is located in a different part of the brain and therefore must be separate components.

Question 32

how can the central executive be used as a limitation of the WMM?

Answer 32

role of CE is unclear and vague

Question 33

how does the case of EVR support that the role of the central executive is vague in the WMM?

Answer 33

after suffering brain injury, EVR was able to solve problems but not make decisions. Both these are supposed to be functions of the CE. This suggests the CE is not a single store as the model suggests

Question 34

what sort of memory does the WMM not account for?

Answer 34

musical memory- it is possible to process instrumental music and do a verbal task at the same time (both using PL)

Question 35

how can musical memory be a limitation of the WMM?

Answer 35

musical memory must not be part of the PL but this isn't explained by the model

Question 36

what practical applications has the WMM got?

Answer 36

phonological deficits observed in dyslexia can be linked to articulatory loop. this can be useful in understanding how to support people with dyslexia to improve their reading ability.