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DP IB Psychology: HL Your notes

Models of Memory
Contents
The Working Memory Model
Two Key Studies on Models of Memory: Glanzer & Cunitz (1966) & Baddeley et al. (1973)

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The Working Memory Model

Your notes
The Working Memory Model
What is the Working Memory Model?
The Working Memory Model (WMM) was devised by Baddeley & Hitch (1974) as a response to
Atkinson & Shi rin9s (1968) Multi-Store Model of Memory in terms of providing a more dynamic and
exible model of memory
The WMM focuses on short-term memory (STM) only, there is no provision made for the functions or
types of long-term memory in the model, it only aims to explain the 8here and now9 of memory i.e. what
you need to work for you in the current moment
The WMM sees STM as a complex information processor rather than as a static unitary store
The WMM is composed of four units:
the central executive (CM)
the phonological loop (PL)
the visuospatial sketchpad (VSS) with the
episodic bu er (EP) which was added much later on in 2000

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The Working Memory Model

What is the Central Executive? Your notes
The CE is the driving force of the WMM as it decides which tasks are to be assigned to which speci c
slave systems e.g. the VSS or the PL rather like the managing director of a company
The CE is not so much a memory store but a 8command centre9 as it plays a key role in controlling the
processes of working memory
Although the CE is probably the most important element of the WMM it is very di cult to test (unlike
the VSS and the PL)
The CE decides which information to pay attention to and which information to ignore and it then
directs the slave systems to act accordingly

What is the Phonological Loop?

The PL attends to and organises acoustic information in the form of spoken or written information (e.g.
written words are encoded via vocalising or 8speaking9, them in the mind so that visual information
becomes acoustic information)
The PL can be divided into two parts:
the phonological store and
the articulatory control system
The phonological store is the 8inner ear9 of the WMM as it processes and stores acoustic, speech-
based information for a very short duration (a couple of seconds)
The articulatory control system translates written words into speech so that they can then be kept in
the phonological store in a kind of loop or 8holding pattern9 so that we can gain access to it quickly, e.g.
repeating a phone number over and over again until we can put it into our phone

What is the Visuospatial Sketchpad?

The VSS attends to and organises visual and spatial information e.g. the colour of a ower, the
arrangement of windows and doors in a house
The VSS is used when you recognise a photo of your friend on social media for example or when you
give directions to a stranger (e.g. How do I get to the train station?)
The VSS can be divided into two parts:
the visual cache and
the inner scribe

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The visual cache is the 8inner eye9 of the WMM as it stores information about form and colour (e.g. a
purple triangle)
Your notes
The inner scribe contains spatial and movement-related information (e.g. how to get from one side of
a crowded room to the other)
The inner scribe rehearses information which is then stored in the visual cache

Your inner scribe is constantly responding to an array of visual stimuli…

What is the Episodic Bu er?
The EB was added to the model in 2000 as a way of acknowledging that the CE has to communicate
with LTM in order to be able to function e ectively
Our working memory needs access to the information stored in LTM to be able to respond to the
current situation – not being able to remember which side of the road to drive on, for example, could
cause all sorts of problems!
The EB acts as a sort of messenger that communicates between LTM and the slave systems of the
WMM
The EB arranges information into 8packets9 and, when the time is right, it moves this information to other
slave systems in a way which makes sense for the individual and which follows a set sequence i.e.
events occur continuously rather than seeming out of joint (e.g. if you are having a conversation you
see the other person speaking at the same time as their lips move)

Which research studies support the WMM?

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Baddeley et al. (1973) – dual-task lab experiment provides support for the PL and VSS
The case of KF
Your notes
(Shallice & Warrington, 1974) – the case study of a brain-damaged patient provides evidence of the
PL and the VSS as separate slave systems
Baddeley et al. (1973) is available as a separate Key Study – just navigate the Cognitive Processing section
of this topic to nd it along with the Key Study for the Multi-Store Model of Memory (Two Key Studies of
Models of Memory)

Evaluation of the Working Memory Model

Strengths
The WMM provides a much more detailed and dynamic model of STM than the multi-store model of
memory does as it explains how di erent processes in memory e.g. response to acoustic and visual
information occur at the same time
The WMM can be tested under controlled conditions such as those used in a lab experiment
Weaknesses
There is very little insight or evidence as to how the CE functions in terms of directing attention towards
the slave systems
Not properly explaining the role of LTM in memory means that the WMM is limited and ignores key
factors in the ways that STM and LTM combine to produce working memory

Examiner Tips and Tricks

As part of critical thinking don9t forget that you can suggest how to improve a model or a theory. You
might suggest a better way of conceptualising memory in a model for example (possibly by
combining elements of both the MSM and the WMM)

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Two Key Studies on Models of Memory: Glanzer & Cunitz (1966) &
Baddeley et al. (1973) Your notes

Key Study: The MSM - Glanzer & Cunitz (1966)

Aim: To investigate serial position e ect as evidence for there being two separate stores of memory (STM
and LTM) which supports the Multi-Store Model of Memory
Participants: 46 males who were all enlisted in the US army
Procedure: Each participant was individually shown 15 lists each containing 15 words. There were three
conditions of the independent variable:
Immediate recall after being shown the list
Recall after a 10−second interference task (the Brown-Peterson technique of counting backwards
aloud from a given number in threes)
Recall after a 30−second interference task (the Brown-Peterson technique of counting backwards
aloud from a given number in threes)
Results:
Participants in the immediate recall condition showed the expected 8U9 curve of the serial position
e ect - i.e. more items recalled from the beginning and the end of the list, showing both primacy and
recency e ect
Participants in the 10−second delay condition showed a similar primacy e ect to the immediate recall
group but much less of a recency e ect
In the 30−second delay condition the primacy e ect was high but the recency e ect had disappeared
with fewest items recalled from the end of the list compared to the other two conditions.
Conclusion: By preventing rehearsal with a 30−second interference task, items from the end of the list had
not been rehearsed in STM so they could not be transferred to LTM and so the recency e ect is prevented.
In other words, there appear to be two separate storage facilities for STM and LTM.

Evaluation of Glanzer & Cunitz (1966)

Strengths
This is a well-controlled lab experiment with standardised procedure which makes it replicable thus
high in reliability
The dependent variable was measured quantitatively which means that the results are easy to
compare and to analyse statistically
Limitations
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The procedure lacks ecological validity due to the arti cial nature of the task
The use of an independent measures design could give rise to participant variables i.e. one condition Your notes
of the IV could have consisted of people whose memory was naturally better than in the other groups
Key terms:
Serial position e ect
Primacy e ect
Recency e ect

Key Study: The WMM - Baddeley et al. (1973)

Aim: To investigate the existence of the VSS and the PL as separate components in the Working Memory
Model by using a dual-task activity (dual-task study)
Participants: There is no information available as to who was included in the sample
Procedure: A dual-task lab experiment in which participants were given a tracking task (following a spot of
light with a pointer around a circular path) while imagining block capitals in their head such as H, T, F and E
Condition A: Participants were asked to start at the bottom left-hand corner of the path and to begin
tracking the shape with their light-pointer. They were asked to respond verbally to each angle with a
8yes9 if it included the bottom or top line of the letter and a 8no9 if it did not. So, if the participant was
thinking of a letter 8F9 then they would respond that yes, it had a top and a middle line but no bottom
line. They did this while tracking the spot of light
Condition B: The participants started tracking the pattern with the light-pointer and they were then
told to imagine one of the letters, 8F9 for example. While they were tracking the pattern they were
asked, 8Does this letter have a top line/middle line/bottom line in it9? But they were asked to just
imagine the letter in their head. So, they were having to follow a pattern while at the same time imagine
a letter in their head
Results: Participants in condition B experienced great di culty in tracking the spot of light and at the same
time accurately identifying in their head whether the letter had a top/middle/bottom line. Tracking and
letter imagery tasks were competing for the limited resources of the Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad, whereas the
tracking and verbal tasks in condition 1 (responding verbally whilst visualising the letter) used separate
components: the VSS and Phonological Loop
Conclusion: There may be separate slave systems – the VSS and the PL - which operate in working memory.
Overloading one of the slave systems with two tasks means that it cannot function properly
Evaluation of Baddeley et al. (1973)
Strengths
The procedure is replicable which means that the study could be repeated to check for reliability

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The study focuses on the dynamic nature of working memory as it demonstrates how memory is used
in the moment in order to complete a complex task
Weaknesses Your notes
As the participants had to visualise each letter in their heads there is the possibility that they became
distracted and thought of other things which would mean that the study lacks validity
As no information was provided as to who made up the sample it is di cult to generalise the ndings
Key terms:
Dual-task
Visuospatial Sketchpad
Phonological loop

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