AQA A Level Psychology

Revision Notes

2.2.1 Working Memory Model

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Working Memory Model

The Working Memory Model

  •  The Working Memory Model (WMM) was proposed by  Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
  • The WMM is a response to the over-simplification of short-term memory in the multi-store model
  • It is a model of short-term memory
    msm-diagram-2

What are the components of the WMM?

Central executive

  • This controls the WMM rather like the ‘boss’ in a business
  • All information passes to the Central Executive (CE) which then decides which component should process it
  • The components can only communicate with each other via the CE: they cannot ‘talk’ to each other
  • The CE is modality free: this means it can process information from any of the 5 senses (auditory, visual etc.) 
  • It can be inferred from research (Robbins et al. 1996) that the CE may be involved in highly complex tasks such as playing chess 

Phonological loop

  • The phonological loop (PL) holds information in the form of speech/sound
  • There are two parts to the PL: the phonological store/inner ear which deals with speech perception and the articulatory control process/ inner voice which processes speech production and rehearses verbal information
  • There is more known about this component than any of the others as it is the easiest of the slave systems to test

Visuo-spatial sketchpad/scratchpad

  • The visuospatial sketchpad (VSS) is concerned with visual and spatial information which it organises into separate components 
  • The VSS also known as the inner eye
  • There are two parts to the VSS: the inner scribe which deals with spatial information and the visual cache which stores information about form, shape and colour

Episodic buffer

  • The episodic buffer (EB) was added to the WMM in 2000
  • The EB is a temporary storage device used to integrate information from the VSS and PL
  • The EB ensures that all the information from the slave systems links together and forms a cohesive whole which makes sense

Research support for the WMM

Dual-task studies

  • Dual-task studies
  • Baddeley and Hitch (1976) and Robbins et al. (1996): two tasks are possible at the same time if they use different slave systems e.g. the PL and the VSS: attempting two tasks using one slave system overloads that system
  • The case study of brain-damaged patient KF (Shallice & Warrington, 1970)

Evaluation of the WMM

Strengths:

  • It extends on the work of the MSM and explains the complexity of STM with the tasks it can perform
  • Research on dual tasks (Baddeley 1973) supports the idea of separate components and how they can be overloaded

Limitations:

  • The WMM is vague on the link between STM and LTM
  • It is difficult to measure the CE which means that not much is actually known about it (although this may well change as more research is conducted on it)

Exam Tip

  • If you draw the model in the exam it will help you to answer the question and may well earn you more marks
  • Be clear and straightforward in your explanation of  how information is processed in the model

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Author: Emma rees