Outline and Evaluation for the Working Memory Model

?
View mindmap
  • Working Memory Model (WMM)
    • Baddeley and Hitch suggests a system involving active processing and Short term storage of info
    • Phonological Loop (PL)
      • Limited capacity, temporary storage system for holding verbal information in a speech based form, codes acoustically
      • Phonological store (inner ear) which stores acoustically coded items for brief seconds
      • Articulatory control process (inner voice) acts like an inner voice rehearsing info from the phonological store, it circulates info round like a tape loop, as long as we keep repeating it, we can retain the info in working memory; capacity of 2 seconds.
    • Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad (VSSP
      • Limited capacity, temporary memory system for holding visual and spatial information
      • Includes visual cache, a passive visual store and inner scribe, which records the arrangement of objects in our environment
      • Refers to what things look like, it is likely that it plays a role in helping us keep tack of where we are in relation to other objects
    • Central Executive
      • Key component of WMM, drives the whole system and allocates data to the slave systems (VSSP & PL)
      • Decides which info is attended to and which parts of the working memory to send that info to be dealt with
      • Deals with decision making and reasoning
      • Limited capacity but can process information from any sensory modality
      • Lack of clarity for Central Executive; seen as the most important store but it is unclear on how it works and what it does, means that the central executive doesn't explain a lot about working memory; incomplete
    • Episodic Buffer
      • Added to model in 2000
      • Temporary store whcih holds the verbal, visual and spatial info processed by other slave systems, allows for events to be recorded as they are happening
        • Limited capacity and links WM to LTM.
    • One group of pps were asked to carry out 2 visual tasks at the same time, the other asked to carry out 1 verbal task and 1 visual task; results showed that the performed better when performing both tasks
      • Suggests both VSSP and PL are limited capacity because VSSP got overwhelmed, performance is better when both are being used, not just one
    • The case study of KF supports the WMM; his STM for recalling digits when read allowed was poor, but when read himself was better
      • This would suggest his phonological loop has been damaged leaving other areas of his memory in tact; supports the WMM's idea that there are separate visual and acoustic stores
      • Case study: hard to generalise to others
    • The model is not comprehensive as it only focuses on STM, not SM or LTM, therefore isn't detailed enough on its own.

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Psychology resources:

See all Psychology resources »See all Memory resources »