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Lecture notes Applied Cognitive Psychology (Psy3009f)
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Lecture notes of 19 pages for the course Applied Cognitive Psychology at UCT
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Working Memory and Performance Limitations:1. WM & Everyday Cognition
What is working memory?
- The performance of everyday cognitive tasks requires the short-term retention
and simultaneous manipulation of material.
WM refers to the system responsible for the temporary storage and
concurrent manipulation of information
Working memory is often used synonymously with short-term memory, but
some theorists consider the two forms of memory distinct, assuming that
working memory allows for the manipulation of stored information, whereas
short-term memory only refers to the short-term storage of information.
i. In the early days, researchers called working memory and short term
memory the same thing: this is NOT the case now.
WM is a cognitive system with temporary and limited capacity
WM is involved in temporarily storing and managing the information required
to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and
comprehension.
i. Working memory is involved in the selection, initiation, and
termination of information-processing functions such as encoding,
storing, and retrieving data.
IT IS THE STARTING POINT OF ALL MEMORY, if working memory is damaged
other memory is difficult.
Magic number: 7±2
- The magic number 7 plus or minus 2 rule – average working memory span for
adults
Digit span backwards
- Memory Clinic WM tests: Digit span backwards test
WM is particularly vulnerable to the effects of aging = sig real-world consequences
for people
o Recent research has examined interventions aimed at minimising the effects
of cognitive aging through working memory training
WM plays an essential role in other cognitive functions due its centrality in cognition.
Remember when we said that WM is involved in temporarily storing and managing
the information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks.
o Shah & Miyake, 1999 these takes required working memory:
Comprehension
Learning
Reasoning
Problem solving
Reading
Some applications of WM that provide a clear demonstration of the utility of WM in
understanding performance limitations in real-world tasks
, o Air traffic control
o Mental rotation
o Learning programming languages
o Cognitive aging
2. Models of WM
- Multicomponent Approach (Baddeley)
- Embedded Process Theory
WM is an interactive system linking incoming perceptual information to long-term memory
4 components
1. Central executive
2. Phonological loop
3. Visuo-spatial sketchpad
4. Episodic buffer
- These components all have performance limitations, therefore accounting for
various instances of memory problems
1. Central executive
o Manages working memory by executing a number of control processes – it is
seen as the gatekeeper system
Maintaining and updating task goals
Monitoring and correcting errors
Scheduling responses
Initiating rehearsal
Inhibiting irrelevant information
Retrieving information from LTM
, Switching retrieval plans
Coordinating activity in concurrent tasks
o Coordinates activity of the phonological loop and the visuospatial
sketchpad
2. Phonological loop
o Speech and auditory based processor
o Consists of a passive storage device (phonological store) coupled to an active
subvocal rehearsal mechanism (articulatory loop)
o Responsible for the short-term retention of material coded in a phonological
format.
3. Visuospatial sketchpad
o Retains information coded in a visuospatial form (the visual input)
o Render perception of the physical world
o Two main subsystems: one that pertains to objects (e.g. focusing attention
onto an object in the foreground, separated from other info in the
background) and one that pertains to space (e.g. things position in space and
our environments)
Episodic buffer
o A recent addition to the model
Provides a means of linking WM to LTM and perception
Provides buffer storage for the components of working memory to
communicate with each other
- Magic number 7 plus or minus 2
WM capacity is determined by the limited capacity of attention (lim. to a max of 4
discrete chunks)
o Baddeley views the capacity of the episodic buffer as also being limited to 4
chunks of information – although each chunk may contain more than 1 item.
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