Working Memory Model Lecture Notes

Introduction

Working Memory Model: An improved version of short-term memory from the multi-store model.
Purpose: Explains how the brain holds and processes auditory and visual information in short-term memory.

Short-Term Memory (STM): Seen as too simplistic, not just a passive store for information.
Working Memory Model: Considers STM as an active processor.
Components: Central Executive, Phonological Loop, Visuospatial Sketchpad, Episodic Buffer.

Central Executive
- Controls attention and coordinates other components.
- Holds limited information and switches between types of information.
Phonological Loop
- Processes auditory information.
- Composed of:
  - Phonological Store: Holds words you hear.
  - Articulatory Process: Inner voice for rehearsal.
- Capacity: Based on what can be said in two seconds.
Visuospatial Sketchpad
- Processes visual and spatial information.
- Broken into:
  - Visual Cache: Stores forms and color.
  - Inner Scribe: Holds spatial relationships.
Episodic Buffer
- Added in 2000.
- Integrates visual, acoustic, and long-term memory information.

Studies show how different components function and their limitations.
Dual Task Performance Study:
- Participants managed separate visual and verbal tasks better than two similar tasks.
- Suggests separation between phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.
Case Study of KF: Demonstrates separate visual and verbal short-term memory impairments.
Brain Scanning Evidence: Shows episodic buffer's location in the brain.
Word Length Effect Study: Supports phonological loop's capacity.

Central Executive:
- Criticized for being vaguely defined.
- Baddeley accepts criticism; sees it as an area for future research.
General reliance on laboratory studies:
- High internal validity but low external validity (mundane realism).
Inference Issue:
- Cognitive psychologists rely on inferences, which might be incorrect.