WORKING MEMORY MODEL Flashcards
(12 cards)
what is the working memory model?
- proposed by baddeley and hitch (1974)
- suggests STM is not a single store but has multiple components that actively processes info
- central executive , phonological loop , visuo-spatial sketchpad , episodic buffer (2000)
- each component responsible for different types of info
- challenges idea of STM as a single passive store suggested in MSM
describe the role of the central executive
- control system of the WMM
- limited capacity - doesn’t store info
- modality free coding
- allocates info to slave systems
describe the role of the phonological loop
subdivided into:
- phonological store (inner ear): stores auditory info
- articulatory control system (inner voice): allows subvocal rehearsal
describe the role of the visuo-spatial sketchpad
- temporarily holds visual and spatial info
subdivided into: - visual cache- stores form and colour
- inner scribe- records spatial arrangements of objects
- helps in tasks such as navigation
describe the role of the episodic buffer
- added in 2000 by baddeley
- integrates info from CE , PL , VSS
- capacity about 4 chunks of info
how do dual task studies support the WMM?
baddeley and hitch found ppts could do a verbal and visual task but not to verbal tasks - suggests separate STM stores
what neuroscientists evidence supports WMM?
brain imaging shows different areas active during verbal vs visual tasks - supports distinct components
how does the case study of KF support the WMM?
KF had impaired verbal STM but intact visual memory , suggesting seperate stores for auditory and visual info
limitation of episodic buffer
limited direct experimental evidence on how the episodic buffer works as it was a letter addition and is difficult to isolate in research
how does the
how does the the WMM improve on the MSM?
unlike MSM which sees STM as unitary store , WMM breaks down STM into multiple components and explains how we process info simultaneously
what did baddeley find about word length and what does it show?
short words are recalled better than long words , supporting idea PL has time based capacity not item based
(2 seconds of speech)
