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Flashcards in Working Memory Model Deck (23)
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0
Q

How many different processors are there in the Working Memory Model?

A

3 or 4 (one is made up of two parts)

1
Q

Who devised the Working Memory Model?

A

Baddeley & Hitch.

2
Q

What are the processors called in the Working Memory Model?

A

The central executive
The phonological loop
The visuospatial scratchpad

3
Q

What is the Phonological Loop made up of?

A

The articulately rehearsal process

The phonological store

4
Q

What is the role of the Central Executive?

A

It co-ordinaries the activities of other processors and allocates attention to incoming information.

5
Q

What can the Central Executive deal with?

A

Any type of information (visual, auditory, speech)

6
Q

What is the capacity of the Central Executive?

A

Limited

7
Q

What is the Phonological Loop responsible for?

A

Processing sound based information.

8
Q

What is the articulatory rehearsal process?

A

The inner voice: a limited capacity verbal rehearsal system, which is used to prepare speech and think in words.

9
Q

How is the capacity of the articulatory rehearsal process determined?

A

By how long it takes to say something, NOT by the number of items.

10
Q

What is the phonological store?

A

The inner ear: it’s a limited capacity rehearsal system which receives sound information. It also receives auditory information from our own internal speech.

11
Q

What is the visuospatial scratchpad?

A

The inner eye: it is a limited capacity rehearsal system where we can image and manipulate visual and spatial information.

12
Q

What does the visuospatial scratchpad monitor?

A

Where we are in relation to othe objects as we move around our environment.

13
Q

Baddeley added a fourth component to the Working Memory Model in 2000 - What was it?

A

The Episodic Buffer

14
Q

What is the Episodic Buffer?

A

A limited capacity store that binds together information from a number of fields - verbal, visual, spatial and chronological information.

15
Q

Why was the Episodic Buffer added?

A

Because the model had difficulty explaining the interaction between working memory and long-term memory.

16
Q

Why is the Working Memory Model a better alternative to the Multi-Store Model? (Strength)

A

It is more flexible because it allows for the processing of both visual and acoustic information whereas short-term memory in the Multi-Store Model only deals with acoustic processing.

17
Q

What can the Working Memory Model explain that the Multi-Store Model can’t? (Strength)

A

The findings from dual task studies where participants can do two tasks at the same time. This shows they are using different processors. The Multi-Store Model cannot explain this.

18
Q

Why does the Paulesu et al study support the Working Memory Model? (Strength)

A

It shows that the phonological loop has two components. The participants had to either memorise a series of letters or rehearse the sounds of letters while their brain was monitored by PET scan. The sound rehearsal task showed increased blood flow in Broca’s area and the letter memory task in a different part of the brain.

19
Q

What can the Working Memory Model explain? Give an example. (Strength)

A

It can explain performance on every day tasks such as reading a book -
The visuospatial scratchpad allows you to visualise the characters whereas the phonological loop will allow you to sound the words out in your head.

20
Q

Logie discovered something that the Working Memory Model did not explain. What was this? (Weakness)

A

The visuospatial scratchpad could be further divided into a visual cache and an inner scribe. This was supported by Smith & Jonides who found that the left hemisphere was active during visual tasks and the right hemisphere was active during spatial tasks.

21
Q

What are the weaknesses of the Central Executive? (Weakness)

A
  • It’s the most important but it’s the one we know least about (e.g. Capacity)
  • There is no direct evidence for its existence.
22
Q

What is wrong with the evidence that supports the Working Memory Model? (Weakness)

A

They are all lab experiments and therefore lack ecological validity.