Psychology & Law 2000words essay
Sharonhy
WorkingMemory.pptx
Memory Processes
CRM 389 Session 4
Working memory
The term working memory is used most frequently to refer to a limited capacity system that is capable of briefly storing and manipulating information involved in the performance of complex cognitive tasks such as reasoning, comprehension and certain types of learning.
Short term memory
STM holds limited amounts of information for short periods of time with relatively little processing. It is a unitary system. This means it is a single system (or store) without any subsystems. Whereas working memory is a multi-component system (auditory, and visual).
While short-term memory can only hold information, working memory can both retaining and process information.
Difference from stm
Working memory differs from short-term memory (STM) in that it assumes both the storage and manipulation of information, and in the emphasis on its functional role in complex cognition.
Model of Working memory
In 1974, Baddeley and Hitch introduced the multicomponent model of working memory. The theory proposed a model containing three components: the central executive, the phonological loop, and the visuospatial sketchpad.
Central executive
Drives the whole system (e.g., the boss of working memory) and allocates data to the subsystems: the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad. It also deals with cognitive tasks such as mental arithmetic and problem-solving.
See video: Origins of the Central Executive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aseitqCZKQo
Visuospatial sketchpad
The visuospatial sketchpad is a component of working memory model which stores and processes information in a visual or spatial form. The visuospatial sketchpad is used for navigation.
See video: Visuospatial Sketchpad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeuWVWEW4bI
Phonological loop
The phonological loop is a component of working memory model that deals with spoken and written material. It is subdivided into the phonological store (which holds information in a speech-based form) and the articulatory process (which allows us to repeat verbal information in a loop).
See video: Visuospatial Sketchpad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zF15C3vnIw
Episodic buffer
The Model of Working Memory was updated by Baddeley (2000) after the model failed to explain the results of various experiments. The additional component was added called the Episodic Buffer. The episodic buffer acts as a 'backup' store which communicates with both long-term memory and the components of working memory.
The Episodic Buffer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a_cF46UiEU
Critical evaluation 1
Strengths:
The working memory applies to real-life tasks:
- reading (phonological loop)
- problem solving (central executive)
navigation (visual and spatial processing)
KF Case Study
Critical evaluation 2
Weaknesses
Lieberman (1980) criticizes the working memory model as the visuospatial sketchpad (VSS) implies that all spatial information was first visual (they are linked).
However, Lieberman points out that blind people have excellent spatial awareness, although they have never had any visual information.
There is little direct evidence for how the central executive works and what it does. The capacity of the central executive has never been measured.
