The central executive is also said to co -ordinate the performance of two separate tasks. It has limited capacity; however it is quite flexible and can use two slave systems, the phonological loop and the visual sketch pad. The phonological loop is the most extensively studied part of the working memory. It also has a limited duration and capacity. But this is more to do with how long it takes us to recite a word not how many words we can hold.
“Describe and evaluate research into the multi-store model of memory.” (4+8) The multi-store model of memory is the first invented explanation of how memory works in a human. This was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968. It has said that information in the model of a human memory involves a sequence where information enters a sensory memory for a short period, a little of that information is then passed onto short term memory where it can be held for a little longer period, this information can be processed into the long term memory by rehearsal or meaning for a more permanent storage. Information In the Sensory memory can be received through iconic, echoic or haptic stores. It lasts for around a second and then information is decayed or passed onto the STM.
Outline and evaluate the working memory model (12) Baddely and Hitch considered that the STM store in the Multi-store Model was too bland and simplified; they believed that STM was not a passive store, but several active processes that manipulate information. Baddely and Hitch also suggested that if a task involved different parts of the wrking memory system then 2 tasks could be undertaken simultaneously; eg, processing vision and sound. There is evidence to show that there is more than one component in STM and this has been provided by Baddeley and Hitch. They divised the dual task technique. They asked participants to perform a reasoning task while simultaneously reciting outloud a list of six digits.
The working memory model was proposed by Baddeley & Hitch (1974) as an alternative to the multi-store model of memory. It has been developed to directly challenge the concept of a single unitary store for short-term memories. The working memory model is based upon the findings of the dual-task study and suggests that there are four separate components to our working memory (STM). The most important component is the central executive; it is involved in problem solving/decision-making. It also controls attention and plays a major role in planning and synthesizing information, not only from the subsidiary systems but also from LTM.
'Outline and evaluate the model of working memory' 'Outline and evaluate the model of working memory' Word count- 974 Without memory we would have trouble with acquiring, retaining and recalling information. Short term memory has restricted capacity and duration. Information that goes though short term memory is lost unless rehearsal takes place. The working memory model (WM) looks at short term memory and how it is not a simplistic model like the multi store model. (Baddeley 2003).
The working memory model is an improvement over the multi-store model. It demonstrates how the short term memory works as it explains how we can store information briefly and simultaneously manipulate it, e.g. mental arithmetic. This shows that the model appears to measure what it is intended to. There is evidence to prove the existence of the phonological loop; Baddeley thought that because longer chunks of information take longer to say, this may affect how much the short term memory can hold, rather than the capacity.
The process of reading words and naming colour words may interfere with each other and the Stroop effect can test that. This relates back to the cognitive processes: controlled and automatic. Processes that require attention from the individual, voluntary and are usually slow are controlled. Automatic processes are involuntary and usually fast. The theory also says that capacity limitation was unaffected, which means that at the same time, other performances would not be affected.
The working memory model was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974 to replace the multi-store model as it was too simplistic and did not explain how memories are transferred into the long term memory without repetition. The working memory model, in addition to temporarily storing and repeating information, focuses on short term memory and proposes a multi-component as opposed to a unitary system. The term 'working memory' refers to the part of the memory that is active or working, such as collecting data to be stored. The working memory model is made of four areas; the central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer. The central executive controls attention, and is involved in planning and synthesizing information from the other two 'slave systems'.
In the MSM, memory is seen as passive, whereas in real life we are actually very active with our memory, Another thing the MSM has been criticised on is for its emphasis on rehearsal. In the model, it suggests that the only way information can go from our short term memory to our long term memory is through rehearsal. However, we don’t spend all our time rehearsing information, and yet some still transfers to our long term memory. This is because you can have something called ‘incidental learning’ – when you remember things without any rehearsal. The last criticism is that the model is very linear.
‘Outline and Evaluate the Multi-Store Model of Memory’ The multi-store model (MSM) is an information processing system, which holds features such as sensory memory, short-term memory and long term memory. This model of memory had been proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968 and they envisaged memory as a flow of information through an information-processing system. The MSM is divided into a series of stages as the information asses from one story to another in a fixed sequence. At each stage there are three constraints in terms of capacity, duration and encoding. Atkinson and Shiffrin said that the information enters from the environment and it registers at the sensory memory before either decaying of passing on to short-term memory.