Title: WORKING MEMORY MODEL
1WORKING MEMORY MODEL
2WORKING MEMORY
- This model focusses on short term memory, i.e.
what we do with information just after we have
attended to it.
3COMPONENTS OF WORKING MEMORY
- Phonological loop or articulatory loop
- this holds verbal information
- 2. The visuo-spatial sketchpad this stores
visual and spatial information - 3. The central executive this integrates
information from all the sensory modalities in
order to make sense of the world
4DIAGRAM OF WORKING MEMORY
5EXPERIMENTS FOR WORKING MEMORY
- Evidence for phonological loop p. 54
- Visual and oral presentation of material
- Spatial tasks vs visual tasks
- The Stroop effect
6THE COMPONENTS OF WORKING MEMORY
- If 2 tasks use the same component, then they
cannot be completed successfully - If they use 2 different components, then both
tasks can be carried out
7CHESS
- Chess involves the use of the VSSP and CE, but no
the PL - Robbins showed this by asking chess players to
fill their PL (repeating a word) - This did not interfere with their ability to play
chess - This study demonstrates how the working memory
model clarifies which processes are used in
complex tasks
8VERBAL REASONING TASKS
- Verbal reasoning uses the central executive, as
it is a complex task - Hitch and Baddeley asked Ps to do a verbal
reasoning task plus - 1. another complex task
- 2. a simple repetition task ( counting 1-6)
- Ps completed the verbal reasoning successfully
in condition 2 but not in condition 1 - This is because the central executive was already
engaged in the verbal reasoning task
9EVIDENCE FOR THE PHONOLOGICAL LOOP
- WORD LENGTH EFFECT Ps could repeat a list of 5
short words better than 5 long words. - They concluded that the capacity of the loop is
determined by the length of time it takes to say
the words (about 2 seconds)
10ARTICULATORY SUPPRESSION
- Ps were asked to repeat la la la.
- This filled the articulatory loop.
- When they did this, the word length effect
disappeared. - This may be because they encoded the words
semantically instead of acoustically. - (Acoustic coding would require the articulatory
loop) - This was tested by giving them sentences and
asking them if they made sense
11VISUAL AND ORAL PRESENTATION
- Baddeley presented Ps with words, both visually
and orally - Regardless of whether the words were presented
visually or orally, Ps found worse recall if
words sounded the same (e.g. fee, knee, he) than
if words sounded dissimilar (e.g. bay, hoe, shy) - So words are processed by the phonological loop,
whether they are presented visually or orally
12THE PHONOLOGICAL LOOP IN EVERYDAY LIFE
- Baddeley found that children with reading
problems had difficulty deciding if words rhymed. - So these children had deficient PL.
- The PL is a component much used in the learning
of languages
13EVIDENCE FOR THE VISUO-SPATIAL SKETCHPAD
- This is used for temporary storage and
manipulation of visual material. - Blind people will have a highly developed spatial
sketchpad. - PRACTICAL USES
- Finding a route when walking
- Playing computer games
14EVIDENCE FOR THE VSSP
- Logie When Ps were given a complex computer
game, they did not perform well if the VSSP was
engaged on another simultaneous task. - Is the VSSP made up of one or 2 systems?
- Studies of brain activity when engaged in a
spatial task is different than when engaged in a
visual task. - This is evidence that it is made up of 2 systems
15GENDER DIFFERENCES
- Males are considered to be better at spatial
tasks. - Montello found no difference in visual ability
between males and females, - e.g geographical knowledge
16EVIDENCE FOR THE VSSP
- The use of PET scans has shown that brain
activity differs according to whether a person is
carrying out a visual task or a spatial task - Visual tasks use the LEFT
- hemisphere of the brain
- Spatial tasks use the RIGHT
- hemisphere of the brain
17EVIDENCE FOR THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE
- This component plays a critical role in
attention, planning and coordination - THE INHIBITION FUNCTION this is demonstrated by
the Stroop effect. - The CE carries out many functions automatically,
and if this automaticity is upset then ability on
complex tasks slows down
18DAMAGE TO THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE
- This occurs when the frontal lobes
- are damaged, and is called
- dysexecutive syndrome.
- They have difficulty solving practical problems,
or managing time - So they have problems holding down a job.
- However, because this syndrome can lead to
several types of disorder, the CE must have
several different functions
19STRENGTHS OF THE WORKING MEMORY MODEL
- It is more plausible than the multi-store model,
because it combines temporary storage with active
processing. - It is more complex because it uses rehearsal
(articulatory loop) as just one possible activity
in temporary storage - It explains how we combine the incoming
information for complex tasks - It explains memory in people with brain damage
more effectively, e.g. KF and people with
dysexecutive syndrome
20WEAKNESSES OF WORKING MEMORY MODEL
- It is argued that the central executive is
modality free, but exactly how it functions is
unclear - We are not sure exactly how the components
interact with each other - It does not tell us anything about long-term
memory - It cannot explain why we can listen to music and
carry out other tasks with no impairment
21TEST ON WORKING MEMORY MODEL
- Draw a diagram which represents this model. (3)
- Outline how information is analysed by the
working memory components when making a chess
move. (2) - Outline key features of the working memory model
(6) - Explain one weakness of the working memory model
(4)
22Outline how information is analysed by the
working memory components when making a chess
move. (2)
- The vssp takes in the visual information of the
positions of the chess pieces. The central
executive analyses possible moves, because it is
in charge of complex tasks - The phonological loop is not involved, because
repeating a word does not interfere with the
ability to play chess
23Outline key features of the working memory model
(6)
- The working memory model explains how information
is processed in short term memory - It consists of 3 limited capacity components
- The articulatory loop (AL) holds verbal
information, so allows us to hold conversations - The visuospatial (VSSP) sketchpad holds visual
and spatial information, whilst the central
executive uses the information from the AL and
the VSSP tp execute complex tasks
24Explain one weakness of the working memory
model (4)
- The model does not clearly state HOW information
is transferred from attention in the present to
storage in long term memory - There must be interaction between the components,
but the working memory model does not clarify how
this occurs, neither does it address the transfer
of information from working memory to long term
memory