The Working Model of Memory

The Working Memory Model Central executive Episodic Buffer Visuo-spatial sketchpad Phonological Loop

Central executive Drives the system. Decides how attention is directed Allocates the resources Has no storage capacity Has limited capacity so cannot attend to many things at once

Episodic Buffer General storage space for both acoustic and visual information It integrates information from the central executive, the phonological loop, the visual sketchpad and the long-term memory. Has limited capacity

The phonological Loop Deals with auditory information and the order of information Baddeley(1986) divided it into two components: The auditory store ( the inner ear ) Which holds information in speech based form for 1-2 seconds The articulatory control process: Used to rehearse verbal information from the phonological store Memory traces in the auditory store decay in 1.5 -2 seconds but can be maintained by articulatory control process

The visuo-spatial sketchpad Holds visual (what things look like) and spatial (relationship between things) information for a very short time. You use it when you are planning a spatial task i.e. going from your home to the college.

Studies: the central executive Baddeley (1996) Asked participants to think of random digits that bore no connection to each other (by tapping in numbers on a keyboard). Either carried out on its own, or with one of the following tasks: Reciting the alphabet Counting from 1 Alternating between letters and numbers e.g. A1 b2 c3 Generated number stream was much less random in condition 3 – Baddeley said they were competing for the same central executive resources.

Studies: The phonological loop Baddeley, Thompson & Buchanan (1975)- word length effect. ORGANISATION UNIVERSITY ASSOSCIATION NEUROLOGICAL UNDENIABLE HARM WIT TWICE BUS TIN Presented words for very brief periods of time. One condition – 5 words, one syllable, familiar. Two condition: 5 polysyllabic words. Average correct recall over several trials showed participants remembered the short words much better. This is the ‘word length effect’. What does this tell us about the phonological loop?

Studies: The phonological loop ARTICULATORY SUPPRESSION Baddeley et al also found that the word length effect disappeared (short words recalled no better than long words) under conditions of articulatory suppression (given a task that would normally make use of articulatory loop e.g. Saying la-la-la-la-la - this means that the word length effect depends on having a verbal rehearsal system.

Studies: The visuospatial sketchpad Shepard & Feng (1972) Imagine folding the shapes into a cube... Do the arrows meet? Time taken to make the decision was related to the time taken if the participants had actually been required to do the folding. VISUAL IMAGES WORK IN VERY SIMILAR WAYS TO REAL LIFE PERCEPTION.

Studies: The visuospatial sketchpad Baddeley, Grant, Wight & Thompson (1973) F Participants were given a visual tracking task: track a moving line with a pointer at the same they were given one of two tasks: To describe the angle of the letter F (which system did this task involve?) 2. To perform a verbal task (which system did this task involve?) They performed better in the second task Why?

Sensory Memory Short Term Memory Long Term Memory Rehearsal Attention Sensory Memory Short Term Memory Long Term Memory Recall / Retrieval Decay Decay Displacement .......... Interference Decay .......... Retrieval Failure OUTPUT

Evaluation of the multi-store model Strength: It is simple and be tested. Research evidence supports the idea that STM and LTM are qualitatively different types of memory. Weakness: In real life, memories are created in contexts rather different from laboratory ased ‘free-recall’ experiments, so perhaps this model does not explain fully the complexities of human memory. The model also suggests that memory is a passive process.

Multi-store Model Recap The model suggests memory consists of 5 separate stores. The model suggests there is only one single, unitary store for each type of memory (Sensory, STM & LTM). The model suggests memory is an active process. Encoding in STM is mainly acoustic, whereas in LTM it is mainly visual. Atminson and Shiffron proposed the model. STM has unlimited capacity and duration. Elaborative rehearsal involves repeating something over and over again.

Working Memory Model Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

“that bit of memory you are USING when you are WORKING on something.” Baddeley and Hitch (1974) Working Memory (STM) is……. “that bit of memory you are USING when you are WORKING on something.” 21 + 12 + 52 =

Task Work out how many windows are in your house… How did you do it? Discuss your answer with the person next to you… Did you use similar strategies?

How does Working Memory operate? I formed a mental image of my house and counted the windows by walking through the house room by room. Did you? Or, did you form a mental image of your house and count the windows by imagining the outside of the house?

Think! How will each of the Working Memory components contribute to the completion of the TASK? Phonological Loop Visuo-spatial Sketchpad Central Executive

How does Working Memory operate? The image of your house will be set up and manipulated in your ‘Visuo-spatial Sketchpad’. The tally of windows will be held in your ‘Phonological Loop’ as you count them under your breath. The whole operation will be supervised by the ‘Central Executive’ which will allocate the tasks and recognise when the final total has been reached.

Working Memory Model Diagram Success Criteria a suitable image to illustrate each component a description of how each component works an everyday example of each component

Dual-Task Experiment Letter Recall Score = Acoustic Task Position Score = Visual Task Person 1 = Verbal Interference Poor Letter Recall Score Person 2 = Visual Interference Poor Position Score

Working Memory Model Multi-store Model

Working memory model of Baddeley and Hitch Central executive The attentional control system Limited capacity Phonological loop Visuospacial sketchpad Spatial and visual information-storage system Limited capacity ‘The inner eye’ Articulatory control system Verbal rehearsal system Time-based capacity ‘The inner voice’ Phonological store Speech-based storage system Decay rate: 2 seconds ‘The inner ear’

Strengths and weaknesses of the WM model (+) Strengths: It suggests that rehearsal is an optional process, which is more realistic than the multi-store model, especially since we do not rehearse everything that we remember. The model can explain how we can successfully do two tasks at the same time if the tasks involve different stores, but why we have trouble performing two tasks at the same time if the tasks involve the same stores.

Weaknesses: (-) Least is known about the precise function of the most important component, the central executive, and the suggestion that there may be a single central executive may be inaccurate. It is too rigid and simplistic