1. Working memory model
A3 sheet – draw out a diagram for the model on one side and space to evaluate on the other side.
Add a description of each element and research to demonstrate the visuospatial sketch pad and phonological loop (short research summaries on ppt, more detailed documents)
Shallice & Warrington: KF shows visual and auditory are separate (students use the pictures to guess what this study showed, then discuss)
Simons and Chabris shows the visuospatial sketchpad has limited capacity (video/ perform study on the students)
Baddeley et al(1975) shows the phonological loop has limited capacity – perform the experiment on the students.
Nb practical research could be used to re-cap experiments, IVs/DVs etc.
Use the questions to evaluate (points on the ppt to help teachers)
Can use the case of Ben Underwood & research in Glasgow (article) to extend application.
12 mark essay – timed (15-20min) and peer marked using examples in the book & examiners comments to guide (page 45)

2. The Working Memory Model:
Baddeley & Hitch (1974) more detailed model of STM

3. Central executive Long Term Memory
Capacity:
Episodic Buffer
Capacity:
Phonological Loop
Coding:
Capacity:
Visuo-spatial
sketchpad
Coding:
Capacity
Long Term Memory

4. Supportive research:
Strengths
Weaknesses

5. The Working Memory Model
Baddeley & Hitch 1974
Detailed model of STM – short term memory is not just one store, it is a number of separate stores.

6. This is also the role of the Central Executive!
WMM
Central Executive
Imagine the fat controller…
What kind of role does he play?
What does his job involve?
If he was in charge of memory what would he do?
This is also the role of the Central Executive!

7. Central executive
Controls the system and decides how attention is directed Has limited capacity so cannot attend to many things at once

8. The central executive decides what working memory pays attention to.
For example, two activities sometimes come into conflict such as driving a car and talking. Rather than hitting a cyclist who is wobbling all over the road, it is preferable to stop talking and concentrate on driving. The central executive directs attention and gives priority to particular activities.

9. 1st Slave System…
Phonological Loop
Imagine… You are watching your favourite episode of TOWIE when your Mum comes in and starts telling you about her day… What happens?

10. The phonological Loop
Deals with auditory information and the order of information Baddeley(1986) divided it into two components: Limited capacity CODING: The auditory store ( the inner ear ) Holds sounds we hear. The articulatory control : Used to rehearse – the voice in our head Memory traces decay seconds, can be maintained by rehearsing.

11. Visuo-spatial sketch pad
WMM
2nd Slave System…
Visuo-spatial sketch pad
Imagine folding these shapes into cubes. Do the arrows meet? At the same time try to calculate how many windows are in your house.
Is this easy?
Try calculating the number of doors in your house while listening to music.
Is this easy?

12. The visuo-spatial sketchpad
Limited capacity Coding: Visual cache: visual data Holds visual (what things look like) Inner scribe: arrangement of objects Holds spatial (relationship between things You use it when you are planning a spatial task i.e. going from your home to the college.

13. 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

14. The case of KF: What is this??? What animal says MEOW? A cat!
Activity – use the pictures in pairs try to work out what happened in this case.

15. Shallice & Warrington (1970) The case of KF:
In the 1970s, KF was in a motorcycle accident, resulting in brain damage to his left occipital lobe (pictured right).

16. Shallice & Warrington (1970) The case of KF:
The brain damage caused problems with his STM.
Found it hard to recognise spoken numbers, letters and words and with significant sounds (such as doorbells and cats meowing) – he could only recall one digit.
His STM for visual memory were unaffected.
Shows STM has a separate visual and auditory component (in dif areas of the brain).

17. The visuospatial sketchpad: limited capacity...
How many things change?

18. The visuospatial sketchpad: limited capacity...
Count the number of basketball passes
the white team makes...

19. Simons and Chabris (1999)
Selective attention task, Ps had to count the number of passes a basketball team made.
Results showed that Ps did not see the man dressed as a gorilla walking in between the players.
Shows visuospatial sketchpad has limited capacity and can only attend to one thing at a time.
They called this ‘inattentional blindness’

20. Further research by Simons and Chabris Another example of inattentional blindness!

21. Yet another example: the door study

22. Why does this happen to most people
Why does this happen to most people? What does it show about working memory? Original researchers names?

23. Look at Simon & Chabris website for more examples of their research

24. Studies: The phonological loop
Baddeley et al(1975)- word length effect.
You will see a list of words for 10 seconds, try to be remember and be ready to write down these words in order.
Activity – complete this experiment on the students.

26. Studies: The phonological loop
Baddeley et al(1975)- word length effect.
university refrigerator tuberculosis periodical hippopotamus
Activity – complete this experiment on the students.

27. stoat mumps school zinc scroll
Activity – complete this experiment on the students.

29. Studies: The phonological loop
Baddeley et al(1975)- word length effect.
2 groups of Ps shown a list of 5 words – either one syllable or polysyllable.
Short words were recalled much better.
The ‘word length effect’ shows the phonologial loop has a limited capacity.
Activity – complete this experiment on the students.

30. The idea of separate stores is also supported by dual task research: Baddeley and Hitch (1976)
Practical research activity!
Say the numbers out loud and answer the questions (true or false)

33. The idea of separate stores is also supported by dual task research: Baddeley and Hitch (1976)
Participants were asked to perform a verbal and a reasoning task (T/F qs) at the same time (a digit span & verbal reasoning task)
Results: As the number of digits increased participants only took slightly longer to answer the question (only fractions of a second) & didn't make any more errors.
Conclusion: The STM has separate stores for reasoning or attention (the central executive) and sound information (the phonological loop).

34. What are some strengths and problems with this model?
Think about the evidence which is supporting it. Is it any good? Yes/no – why?
Hint: cases of brain damaged patients/ experimental research in labs
Is it better than the MSM? Can it help the MSM?
Are any parts of this model unclear?
Could this model be applied in any way to improve our memory?
Extra challenge!
Are there any real life situations where people forget or remember which seem to be explained by this model?

35. There is little direct evidence for how the central executive works and what it does. The capacity of the central executive has been very difficult to measure as this part of the model is so poorly explained.

36. Strength= this model is still being developed and applied today e.g.
There are cases of People with sensory deprivation (deaf/ blind) who use their visuospatial sketchpad/phonological loop without these sensory experiences.
Research suggests they may use these systems in a different way e.g. cases of blind people using their visual system to create visuospatial images through sound (echolocation) e.g. Ben Underwood
Professor Dutton in Glasgow is using the technique with blind children.

37. Lieberman (1980) argues that the visuo-spatial sketch pad (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.
Lieberman argues that the VSS should be separated into two different components: one for visual information and one for spatial

39. Extra evaluation Strengths
Extremely influential model and most psychologists use it in preference to the STM as it shows the complexity of STM.
Research support comes from dual-task studies, although such studies are rather artificial. However patients like KF could remember visual but not verbal stimuli in STM so must be at least two systems in STM.
Physiological evidence exists using studies involving brain scans. PET scans have shown that different areas of the brain are used while undertaking verbal and visual tasks. These areas may correspond to components of WM.
It attempts to explain how memory actually functions. Evidence has been presented that suggests the phonological loop plays a key role in the development of reading and the phonological loop is not operative in some children with dyslexia. This loop helps us comprehend complex text and learn new spoken vocabulary.
Weaknesses
WM only concerns itself with STM and is not a comprehensive model of memory.
What is the function of the Central Executive? Least is know about the most important component of Working Memory. It isn’t clear how it works or what it does. This vagueness means that it can be used to explain almost any experimental results.
The capacity of the Central Executive has never been measured.
Practice time? WM doesn’t explain changes in processing ability that occur as a result of practice or time.

40. Extra extension
Application = using working memory model in the classroom:
(detailed article)