The Working Memory Model

The Working Memory Model

1. Components

   • Central Executive
     • Directs attention to the the slave systems from the senses and LTM
   • Episodic Buffer
     • A general store that integrates information from the C.E, the slave stores and LTM
   • Phonological Loop
     • Phonological Store
       • Holds the words you hear like an inner ear
     • Articulatory process
       • Is used for words that are heard or seen
   • Visuo-spatial Sketchpad
     • Visual Cache
       • Processes form and colour
     • Inner Scribe

2. An active processor of temporary information which unlike the multi store memory model which see's STM as a unitary store, WWM see's the processes including a number of slave systems

3. Supporting Evidence

   • 2 tasks
     • Gave participants two tasks to do simultaneously. Task 1 occupied the central executive (e.g participants were given a statement 'B is followed by A' and shown two letter such as 'AB' amd asked to say true or false'). Task 2 either involved the articulatory loop (e.g asked to say 'the the the' repetitively') or both the central executive and articulatory loop (saying random digits), or no additional task. Task 1 was slower when given a task involving both the central executive and the articulatory loop. Speed on task 1 was the same whether using A.L or no extra task. This shows that doing both tasks that involve the same component causes difficulty and it suggests when different components are used, performance is not affected.
   • Brain damaged patients
     • Studies of individuals with brain damage also support the working memeory model as we have seen, the case study of KF showed that STM works independently of LTM as he had no problem with long term learning but some aspects of his immediate memory were impaired. His short term forgetting of auditory problems were limited in respct of verbal material such as letters and digits but not of meaningful sounds (phone ringing). Thus his brain damage seemed to be restricted to the phonological loop

4. Evaluation

   • Strengths
     • Supporting evidence
     • Different kinds of memory
       • The WMM represents a shift iin our understanding of memory as one activity, being able to distinguish an array of different kinds of memory. In the 1950's psychologists tried to find where memory was located in the brain. The MSM in the 1960's offered the first step in the right direction in identifying some sub-components of memory and linking these with areas of the brain such as the hippocampus. The WMM has continued the refinement by identifying further components of memory.
   • Weaknesses