2.2 Working Memory Model

Bobby has designed a dual-task experiment which he will conduct in his Psychology class. Once he has obtained his results he intends to use the median as his measure of central tendency to analyse the data.

Suggest how Bobby could ensure that his research is valid.

Explain why the mean would be a better measure of central tendency for Bobby to use on his data and additionally, explain under what conditions it would be better to use the median.

Outline and evaluate the role of the Central Executive in the WMM.

Amir was talking to his friend Sunita on the phone and drawing doodles at the same time. When he tried to write down some ideas he had about what to buy Sunita for her birthday he found that he lost track of what Sunita was saying and had to ask her to repeat the information.

With reference to Amir’s conversation with Sunita explain why Amir found it difficult to write down information that was different to the conversation content and why this did not occur when he was drawing doodles.

Dr Loopy conducted a dual-task experiment in which she obtained 50 participants from her university using volunteer (self-selecting) sampling achieved via use of an advert and randomly allocated them to one of two conditions:

Condition 1: Recite a poem out loud whilst writing a shopping list 

Condition 2: Recite a poem out loud whilst looking at the image of a cat

Identify the experimental design Dr Loopy used in her dual-task experiment 

Outline one strength and one limitation of using the design you identified in a).

Evaluate Dr Loopy’s use of sampling method and suggest how she could have used an alternative sampling method.

Professor Visuo has conducted research on the capacity of the VSS in the morning compared to its capacity in the evening. She has found that participants were able to recall 85% of visual stimuli presented in the morning compared to 62% of visual stimuli in the evening. 

Calculate the percentage decrease between the two scores.

Explain why using case studies of brain-damaged patients to provide insight into working memory may lack scientific rigour.

Which type of long-term memory would be most associated with the following?

Write the correct type of long-term memory in the spaces provided.

Outline and evaluate research into duration in memory.

Name the two components of working memory that would be involved in the performance of the tasks in Condition A.

Mentally counting backwards from 100:

Tracking coloured shapes on a computer screen:

Discuss one strength of the working memory model.