Unit -3 Models of Attention and Me

Presented by: saranyaa M

Facilitated by: Ms. Jayalakshmi P. B
Contents
ATTENTION........................................................................................................................................2
Types of attention..................................................................................................................................2
Attention shifting:..................................................................................................................................3
Theories and Models of Attention.........................................................................................................3
MODELS OF ATTENTIONS:..............................................................................................................4
BROADBENT’S BOTTLENECK MODEL..................................................................................4
ADVANTAGES:..........................................................................................................................6
DISADVANTAGES:...................................................................................................................6
TREISMAN MODEL......................................................................................................................7
ADVANTAGES:..........................................................................................................................8
DISADVANTAGES:...................................................................................................................8
DEUTSCH AND DEUTSCH MODEL..........................................................................................9
ADVANTAGES:........................................................................................................................10
DISADVANTAGES:.................................................................................................................11
NORMAN AND BOBROW’S MODEL:.....................................................................................11
ADVANTAGES:........................................................................................................................12
DISADVANTAGES:.................................................................................................................12
Memory...............................................................................................................................................13
The Memory Process...........................................................................................................................13
Types of memory:...............................................................................................................................14
SENSORY MEMORY....................................................................................................................14
SHORT-TERM/WORKING MEMORY.........................................................................................14
Duration.......................................................................................................................................14
Capacity.......................................................................................................................................15
Long term memory..........................................................................................................................15
MODELS OF MEMORY:...................................................................................................................17
Multi Store Model of Memory.........................................................................................................17
Levels of Processing........................................................................................................................20
Working memory model......................................................................................................................23
REFERENCES :..................................................................................................................................29
 UNIT 3

TOPIC: TYPES AND MODELS OF ATTENTION

ATTENTION
Attention is taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem
several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration of
consciousness is of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal
effectively with others. (James, 1890/1950). At any given instant, you are consciously aware
of only some of these stimuli, and you will respond to or remember fewer still. Because
human beings seem to be able to process a relatively small number of stimuli at one time in
most situations, attention is considered to be limited in capacity. Thus, the human mind's
ability to select among competing stimuli and its capacity limitations are important aspects of
attention.

Types of attention
An even more clinically oriented framework for attention was offered by Sohlberg and
Mateer (1987) There are five components of Sohlberg and Mateer's (1987, 2001b) original
framework.

 Focused attention was defined as a basic, low-level ability to orient and respond to
specific stimuli in any modality. Sohlberg and Mateer (2001b) defined sustained
attention by referring to two proposed sub components: working memory, which
enables a person to manipulate and hold in mind the information necessary to perform
a task, and vigilance, which they defined as the ability to maintain focus or a response
set over time during a continuous, repetitive activity.
 Selective attention, according to Sohlberg and Mateer (2001b), is the ability to avoid
distraction by irrelevant internal or external stimuli. Like sustained attention, it also
incorporates the notion of maintaining a response set.
 Alternating attention refers to the ability to flexibly switch between tasks and
involves both working memory and the ability to shift set (intention) in response to
changing task requirements.
 Divided attention was described as the ability to engage in multiple tasks
simultaneously. According to Sohlberg and Mateer (2010), their framework of
 attention has been modified to "reflect the functional importance of executive control
and working memory, and the lack of clarity around the concept of divided attention".

Attention shifting:
It is the ability of mental flexibility that allows to shift our focus of attention between
two or more tasks. Those tasks require different cognitive requirements. It alternates attention
back and forth between two different tasks that require the use of different areas of our brain.
We probably use alternating attention almost all the time. We may constantly need to make
sudden changes on our activities or actions which requires attention to shift. For example:
reading a recipe (learning) and then performing the tasks of recipe (doing). It could also be
alternating between unrelated tasks such as calculating the prices of the things as well as
shopping the groceries.

Theories and Models of Attention

Early attempts to study selective aspects of attention in the laboratory included dichotic
listening tasks, in which a listener simultaneously hears two different messages through
headphones, one in each ear. Results from such experiments indicated that when listeners
were asked to shadow or continuously repeat the message in one ear, they remembered very
little about the message presented to the other ear (Cherry, 1953). For example, although
listeners often recognized when the speaker in the unattended ear changed from male to
female, they could report none of the content and often failed to notice if the speech changed
direction by being played in reverse. In another dichotic listening experiment, Broadbent
(1956) found that, when subjects were presented with different lists of digits to each ear and
asked to recall them, they preferred to report them grouped by ear. When they were required
to report digits in simultaneously presented pairs, they were less accurate.

MODELS OF ATTENTIONS:
In early period, there were many theories have been evolved on describing the process behind
the attention. Several authors have explained the various process that occur behind the
attention. Few of them are

1. Broadbent’s Bottleneck Model

2. Norman And Bobrow’s Model
3. Treisman Model
4. Deutsch And Deutsch Model.

BROADBENT’S BOTTLENECK MODEL

The British psychologist Donald E. Broadbent (1958) created the Filter Theory, based on
findings from the shadowing and dichotic listening tasks, introduced by Cherry (1953).

He also carried out studies using a shadowing task, in which one auditory message had to be
shadowed (repeated back out aloud) while a second auditory message was presented to the
other ear. Very little information seemed to be obtained from the second or non-attended
message. Listeners rarely noticed even when that message was spoken in a foreign language
or in reversed speech. In contrast, physical changes (e.g., the insertion of a pure tone) were
usually detected, and listeners noticed the sex of the speaker and the intensity of sound of
unattended messages. He also found that we use physical differences between the various
auditory messages to select the one of interest. These physical differences include differences
in the sex of the speaker, in voice intensity, and in the location of the speaker. When Cherry
presented two messages in the same voice to both ears at once (thereby removing these
physical differences), the participants found it very hard to separate out the two messages
purely on the basis of meaning. This is cocktail phenomenon.

Broadbent started his research with air traffic controllers during the war. In this situation, a
number of competing messages from departing and incoming aircrafts arrive continuously, all
requiring attention, and then he experimented ‘dichotic listening test’.
For Example:

Right ear: 4, 9, 3
Left ear :6, 2, 7
In one condition, participants were asked to recall the digits by ear of presentation (for
example, 493 and 627). In another condition, participants were asked to recall the digits
in the sequence in which they appeared. Since two digits at a time were presented, the
participants could recall either member of the pair first but had to report both before
continuing through the sequence. Thus, in this condition, the participant could report
the digits in this manner: 4, 6, 9, 2, 3, 7.

The participants had asked to recall the stimulus presented in both ears
simultaneously and to recall the stimulus that is present in one ear. The findings of it shows
that results were not as expected.
The first complete theory of attention was developed by Broadbent (1958) called a
filter Model. Broadbent argued that messages traveling along a specific nerve can differ either
according to which of the nerve fibres they stimulate or according to the number of
nerve impulses they produce. Thus, when several nerve fibres fire at the same time, several
sensory messages may arrive at the brain simultaneously.
In Broadbent’s model these incoming signals would be processed through a number
of parallel sensory channels. Further processing of information would then occur only after
the signal was attended to and passed on through a selective filter into a limited-capacity
channel. All information can enter the system than can be processed by the limited-capacity
channel. Broadbent postulated that, in order to avoid an overload in this system, the selective
filter could be switched to any of the sensory channels. If the incoming information is not
attended then that information will not be processed. In early postulates given Broadbent
(1953) he said that the incoming signals are filtered based on the physical characteristics but
his view was not supported because his view was switching attention was unrelated to content
of the information. Therefore, Broadbent’s theory assumed that “the stimuli come through
the various channels to the sensory system where they are stored for a short time and
analysed in parallel, based on their elemental physical characteristics, tone or intensity of
voice (S). This stage is followed by a more advanced processing phase performed by the
perceptive system (P), which operates serially and is characterized by limited capacity, which
only has access to some of the stimuli. A filter between the S system and the P system selects
the stimuli that have access to a more sophisticated processing level”

So, Broadbent concluded that ‘filter’ model of how selective attention operates. Broadbent
concluded that we can pay attention to only one channel at a time – so his is a single channel
model.

ADVANTAGES:
1. It explains that regulates the flow of information, prevents overload of information.

DISADVANTAGES:
1. Broadbent’s dichotic listening experiments have been criticized because:

o The early studies all used people who were unfamiliar with shadowing and so
found it very difficult and demanding. Eysenck and Keane (1990) claim that
the inability of naïve participants to shadow successfully is due to their
 unfamiliarity with the shadowing task rather than an inability of the attentional
system.
o Participants reported after the entire message had been played – it is possible
that the unattended message is analysed thoroughly but participants forget.
2. It doesn’t explain about the cocktail phenomenon.

TREISMAN MODEL
Anne Treisman (1964) proposed the Attenuation Theory to explain how unattended
stimuli sometimes came to be processed in a more rigorous manner than what Broadbent’s
Filter model could account for. Treisman agreed with Broadbent that there was a bottleneck
but disagreed on the location. Attenuation Theory added layers of sophistication to
Broadbent’s original idea of how selective attention might operate; claiming that instead of a
filter which barred unattended inputs from ever entering awareness, it was a process of
attenuation (Nketesia, 2013).

Attenuation is like turning down the volume so that if you have 4 sources of sound in
one room (TV, radio, people talking, baby crying) you can turn down or attenuate 3 in order
to attend to the fourth. This means that people can still process the meaning of the attended
messages. According to Treisman, the first of these screens evaluates the signal on the basis
of gross physical characteristics and more sophisticated screens then evaluate the signal in
terms of meaning. The initial screening takes place by means of an attenuator, or perceptual
filter—a device that regulates the volume of the message and that intercedes between the
signal and its verbal processing.
 Treisman’s work is her experiment in which participants were asked to attend to a
message in one ear, while the linguistic meaning shifted from one ear to the other. Treisman
carried out dichotic listening tasks using the speech shadowing method. Typically, in this
method participants are asked to simultaneously repeat aloud speech played into one ear
(called the attended ear) whilst another message is spoken to the other ear.

Treisman (1964) argued that secondary channels of information are not completely filtered
but attenuated. Attenuated information would be passed to higher levels of analysis only if it
is passed a threshold test. This test would identify words that had learned importance (e.g.,
one’s name or a warning such as “Look out!” or that were favoured by contextual
probabilities or recent use (Cohen, 2014).

Treisman, in her Attenuation Theory, assumed that there was a decrease in the
perceived loudness of an unattended message. This message will usually not be loud to reach
its threshold unless it has a very low threshold to begin with (your name), or there is a general
momentary decrease for all messages. Thus, the attenuation of unattended stimulus would
make it difficult, but not impossible, to exact meaningful context from irrelevant inputs, so
long as stimuli possessed sufficient “strength” after attenuation to make it through a
hierarchical analyzation process (Beneli, 1997). Treisman’s model overcomes some of the
problems associated with Broadbent’s Filter model (1958), such as semantic analysis, and
explains the “Cocktail party phenomenon.”

ADVANTAGES:
1. It says about the cocktail party phenomenon
2. It also accounts semantic analysis occurs at processing level
3. Broadbent's is a simple single filter model, whereas Treisman's explains two-stage
filtering process

DISADVANTAGES:
1. It doesn’t explain about the cocktail phenomenon.
2. It doesn’t explain about the process of semantic analysis
3. The nature of the attenuation process has never been precisely specified.
 4. A problem with all dichotic listening experiments is that you can never be sure that
the participants have not actually switched attention to the so-called unattended
channel.

DEUTSCH AND DEUTSCH MODEL

Deutsch and Deutsch (1963) proposed the “Late Selection Theory” and postulated
that all information, both attended and unattended, are analysed for “importance”. He
proposed the “Late Selection Theory” and postulated that all information, both attended and
unattended, are analysed for “importance”. All signals receive extensive analysis and the
most important signal is selected for further processing at a later stage. This further
processing is what enters awareness. Further processing of a given message may not occur at
all, however, if a person’s level of arousal is low, particularly when the message is not of
great importance (Cohen, 2014).

In the Late Selection Theory, another factor that has a major effect on selecting the
input is the relevance of the information during the time of processing. Deutsch and Deutsch
(1963) claimed that all messages are routinely processed for at least some aspects of meaning
– the selection of message for response happens later. At low level of alertness, only very
important messages capture attention, whereas at higher level of alertness, less important
messages can be processed. Moreover, the authors suggested that both channels of
information are recognized but are quickly forgotten unless they hold personal pertinence to
the individual. For example, in shadowing experiments, the participant is asked to repeat a
certain message, that would create the personal significance needed in attention.
 Deutsch proposed, which is quite opposing to Broadbent’s and Treisman’s models.
Here, Deutsch says that all stimulus is analysed completely. He said that selection does not
occur based on early selection filter.

According to Deutsch, the information that are processed from sensory filter are
filtered based on the physical characteristics. Before moving on to short term memory, the
information is passed to secondary selection filter. Here, the information is filtered based on
the semantic characteristics. The, based on this the important information is fully elaborated.
The information which is unattended is ignored. If the unattended message is important than
the attended message, then the unattended message is processed and attended.

ADVANTAGES:
1. It says that all information is analysed, and the analysis is not done only at early
phase.
2. It also says about the level of arousal is important to attend the information.
DISADVANTAGES:
1. The system that assigns “importance” to some information is not well described
2. The model is vague regarding the stages of allocation. It does not explain how the
analysis is automatically allocated to all stimuli, where the late stage is located in the
stream of information processing

NORMAN AND BOBROW’S MODEL:

This is the theories of divided attention. They conceptualize attention as a limited
resource that must be spread around different informational sources. The resource is the
mental effort or energy required to perform a task. The factors that determine the attentional
capacity gets utilized. A person’s arousal level affects this capacity. Moderate levels of
arousal are assumed to produce greatest amount of available capacity. Performance is poor at
low and high levels, as the person is too tired or anxious.
 Initially, Kahneman proposed that: Some activities are more demanding and therefore
require more mental effort than others. The total number available processing capacity may
be increased or decreased by other factors such as arousal. Several activities can be carried
out at the same time provided that their total mental effort does not exceed the available
capacity.
Norman and Bobrow (1973) proposed that the limits of attention are related to the limited
amount of mental effort that can be spent on a task. The deterioration of performance that
occurs when attention gets divided, is a result of several processes competing for the same
limited resources. 2 types of tasks are used:

● Data limited task; quality of data is limited.

● Task in which performance is improved if more resources are supplied to the task.

There is a fixed upper limit on the number of resources that are available for processing and
no interference among activities as long as this limit is greater than the total processing
resources required by the tasks being performed.
Resource limited tasks: While performing a complex cognitive task, the performance of the
task is related the number of resources (Psychological effort) exerted on the task. When the
resources are less, then the performance will be poor. Then the resources are more, the then
outcome of the performance will be good. These kinds of tasks are the resource limited tasks.
Data Limited task: When the performance of the task is purely based on the quality of the
information, those tasks is called data limited. Here, it is not based on the processing speed.
Several experiments were carried out to dissociate the effects of perceptual load from
the general effects of processing speed (Lavie, 1996). In this context it is important to
distinguish perceptual load, which is defined in terms of the demand on attentional capacity,
from other types of task difficulty, which affect processing speed but do not place additional
demands on attention. For example, a type of task difficulty that is unrelated to attentional
demand concerns the quality of sensory information provided by a stimulus (i.e., signal-to-
noise ratio), and can be manipulated by reducing stimulus contrast, superimposing noise, or
reducing presentation time.
Although degrading sensory information will increase task difficulty, it is important to
realize that this will not necessarily increase the demand on attentional capacity. For
example, if a target stimulus is degraded so severely that it becomes invisible, further
allocation of attention will not improve its perception. This insight is behind the distinction
between different kinds of processing limitations first suggested by Norman and Bobrow
(1975): “data limits” in the quality of sensory information and “resource limits” in the
processing of that information. They further suggested that “data limits” cannot be
compensated by applying additional resources, and “resource limits” cannot be compensated
by improving sensory information. Thus, degrading sensory information should increase task
difficulty and slow processing speed, but without increasing demands on attentional capacity.

ADVANTAGES:
1. It has explained about the task difficulty will its complexity increases.
2. It also explains about the sensory information and processing speed.

DISADVANTAGES:
1. It does not clearly explain the process of the perception
2. It does not explain about the analysis of information

Memory
Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain, and later retrieve
information.

There are three major processes involved in memory:

● encoding,

● storage and

● retrieval.

The Memory Process

1. Encoding (or registration): the process of receiving, processing, and combining
information. Encoding allows information from the outside world to reach our senses
in the forms of chemical and physical stimuli. In this first stage we must change the
information so that we may put the memory into the encoding process.

2. Storage: the creation of a permanent record of the encoded information. Storage is the
second memory stage or process in which we maintain information over periods of
time.
 3. Retrieval (or recall, or recognition): the calling back of stored information in response
to some cue for use in a process or activity. The third process is the retrieval of
information that we have stored. We must locate it and return it to our consciousness.
Some retrieval attempts may be effortless due to the type of information.

Problems can occur at any stage of the process, leading to anything from forgetfulness to
amnesia. Distraction can prevent us from encoding information initially; information might
not be stored properly, or might not move from short-term to long-term storage; and/or we
might not be able to retrieve the information once it’s stored.

Human memory involves the ability to both preserve and recover information we have
learned or experienced.

Memory is most frequently characterized according to the duration of information retention

● sensory,

● short-term/working,

● and long-term

Types of memory:
SENSORY MEMORY
The duration of this type of memory ranges from less than one second to several seconds. It is
sometimes referred to as sensory trace(s). The traces disappear very quickly; most often we
are not even aware of them, and the capacity for this type of memory is relatively large.
Information representations are sensory rather than semantic and are manifested as brief
traces of neural activity in cortical areas that correspond to the projections of various senses.

● If the information was auditory this type of memory is called echoic. Echoic memory

may last from two to three seconds, but the traces start to dwindle after 300 to 500 ms

● The visual modality will produce iconic memory. Iconic memory lasts not longer than

half a second (according to some authors not longerthan 300 ms).

● Tactile information will result in haptic memory.

 Kölsch, Schroger, and Tervaniemi (1999) found that sensory memory, specifically
echoic memory, may be modified by practice. If the stimulus is“worth” remembering,
it is passed on to short-term/working memory.

SHORT-TERM/WORKING MEMORY
Short-term memory, also known as primary or active memory, is the information we are
currently aware of or thinking about.

● The Short-term memory is very brief. When short-term memories are not rehearsed

or actively maintained, they last more seconds.

● Short-term memory is limited. It is commonly suggested that short-term memory

can hold seven plus or minus two items.
Duration
Most of the information kept in short-term memory will be stored for approximately 20 to 30
seconds, but it can be just seconds if rehearsal or active maintenance of the information is
prevented. Some information can last in short-term memory for up to a minute, but most
information spontaneously decays quite quickly.

For example, imagine that you are trying to remember a phone number. The other person
rattles off the phone number, and you make a quick mental note. Moments later you realize
that you have already forgotten the number. Without rehearsing or continuing to repeat the
number until it is committed to memory, the information is quickly lost from short-term
memory.

You can increase the duration of short-term memories to an extent by using rehearsal
strategies such as saying the information aloud or mentally repeating it.
However, the information in short-term memory is also highly susceptible to interference.
Any new information that enters short-term memory will quickly displace any old
information. Similar items in the environment can also interfere with short-term memories.

While many of our short-term memories are quickly forgotten, attending to this information
allows it to continue the next stage—long-term memory.
Capacity
The amount of information that can be stored in short-term memory can vary. An often-cited
figure is a plus or minus seven items, based on the results of a famous experiment on short-
term memory.

In an influential paper titled "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two," psychologist
George Miller suggested that people can store between five and nine items in short-term
memory. More recent research suggests that people are capable of storing approximately four
chunks or pieces of information in short-term memory.

Short term memory has three key aspects:

1. limited capacity (only about 7 items can be stored at a time)

2. Limited duration (storage is very fragile and information can be lost with
distraction or passage of time)

3. Encoding (primarily acoustic, even translating visual information into sounds).

Long term memory

This type of memory is measured by days, months, and years. With respect to the
characteristics of the stored information it is usually grouped into declarative and non
declarative, and it has been found that these two types of memory are differently
represented in the brain (Kandel & Hawkins, 1992).

⮚ Declarative memory is also called explicit or direct, and it refers to knowledge

(and experiences) that can be consciously accessed. It may be further divided

into episodic and semantic memory.

● Episodic memory is knowledge of events that concern us personally

(memory of the first day of school, wedding, the most embarrassing

situation, etc.); it is therefore frequently referred to as autobiographic
memory, and it is temporally marked.

● Semantic memory contains knowledge of facts that we have read,

learned in school, seen on television, and so forth,without particular

details about the process of acquiring such knowledge, which makes it
temporally unmarked. Semantic memory underlies the mental lexicon.

⮚ Non declarative memory is also called implicit or indirect. It is sometimes

 used synonymously with the term procedural memory, but most authors
agree that non declarative memory comprises subtypes other than procedural
memory
Besides procedural memory, Non declarative memory includes the
perceptual representation system, classical conditioning, and non
associative learning. It is accessed without consciousness or implicitly
through performance rather than recollection.

What is common to all these subtypes is that they all involve knowledge that has been
acquired and stored without explicit memory of that process. It is an unintentional,
unconscious form of knowledge retention. Procedural memory involves the ability to
perform a motor or cognitive skill (e.g., skiing or reading) without conscious
knowledge or deliberation about how the skill is performed. Knowledge retained in
the perceptual representation system may be discovered by priming and memory tests.
Implicit memory may be further categorized into perceptual and conceptual implicit
memory, because perceptual and conceptual priming tasks affected different parts of
the brain.

MODELS OF MEMORY:
Multi Store Model of Memory
The multistore model of memory (also known as the modal model) was proposed by
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) and is a structural model. They proposed that memory consisted
of three stores: a sensory register, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).

Information passes from store to store in a linear way, and has been described as
an information processing model (like a computer) with an input, process and output.

Information is detected by the sense organs and enters the sensory memory. If attended to this
information enters the short term memory.

Information from the short-term memory is transferred to the long-term memory only if that
information is rehearsed (i.e. repeated).

If maintenance rehearsal (repetition) does not occur, then information is forgotten, and lost
from short term memory through the processes of displacement or decay.
Sensory memory -
We experience our world through a number of senses, and it is believed we have a sensory
memory for each sense. For example, we have a different memory store for visual sensations
and auditory sensations. Information in this store decays very rapidly and can only be held for
a few hundred milliseconds (i.e. 500ms = half a second).

Short-term memory -
Duration: when information is attended to then it enters this store. Information in this store is
thought to remain there for 15 to 30 seconds, and is thought to decay unless it is maintained
via rehearsal.

Capacity: Atkinson and Shiffrin assumed the capacity was for 5 to 8 items. However, Miller
(1956) refined this to 'the magical number 7 plus or mins 2'. So the short term store as a
series of 5 to 9 slots that can hold information.
Encoding: short-term memory holds information in auditory (sound) form. For example, you
may see a car but in short-term memory it is held as the word 'car'.
Retrieval: information is retrieved from the short-term memory using a quick scan of the
information in the store. Rehearsal keeps information in the short-term store, if there is too
much to rehearse then information with the least rehearsal will decay. For example, if you
are asked to remember a list of words, the words that you say to yourself the least are less
likely to be remember.

Long-term memory -
Retrieval: long-term memories exist for all sensory information. For example, you can
remember the taste of coffee, the sight of a picture, the sound of a friend’s voice BUT there
are multiple copies of each memory. There evidence for this is the 'tip of the tongue'
phenomenon - where you know there is a memory for something in there but can't access it;
you see a familiar face, where you met that person, what their voice sounds like, but you
cannot retrieve their name even though you know it.

Encoding: information can be stored in long-term memory by rehearsal, or linking new

information to old information. For example, repeating a phone number over and over again
can store it in long-term memory (rehearsal), OR if you know know how to evaluate one
study in psychology you can evaluate another because you can relate both to GRAVE.

Duration: potentially the duration is unlimited. Long-term memory can hold certain types of
information for the whole of a person's lifetime without deterioration. Other types of
information may deteriorate over time.

Capacity: again, potentially infinite, with the potential to hold thousands of images in long-
term memory.

Transferring information from short-term to long-term:

The information that enters the sensory register can only be processed in the short-term
memory once a verbal label has been applied to it from long-term memory. For example, if
you see a monkey (sensory memory), you cannot process it in short-term memory until long-
term memory has provided the label 'monkey'. Transfer from short-term memory to long-term
memory can occur because of rehearsal, but this may leave a weak memory. Amnemoic (i.e.
SCOUT) can provide a stronger trace as the 5 evaluation points are linked by a familiar word
or pattern.
Strengths

⮚ One strength of the multistore model is that is gives us a good understanding

of the structure and process of the STM. This is good because this allows
researchers to expand on this model.

⮚ This means researchers can do experiments to improve on this model and

make it more valid and they can prove what the stores actually do. Therefore,
the model is influential as it has generated a lot of research into memory.
 ⮚ Many memory studies provide evidence to support the distinction between

STM and LTM (in terms of encoding, duration and capacity). The model can
account for primacy & recency effects.

⮚ The model is supported by studies of amnesiacs

Weaknesses

⮚ The model is oversimplified, in particular when it suggests that both short-

term and long-term memory each operate in a single, uniform fashion. We

now know is this not the case.

⮚ It has now become apparent that both short-term and long-term memory are

more complicated that previously thought

⮚ In the case of long-term memory, it is unlikely that different kinds of

knowledge, such as remembering how to play a computer game, the rules of

subtraction and remembering what we did yesterday are all stored within a
single, long-term memory store.

⮚ Indeed different types of long-term memory have been identified, namely

episodic (memories of events), procedural (knowledge of how to do things)

and semantic (general knowledge).

⮚ Rehearsal is considered a too simple explanation to account for the transfer of

information from STM to LTM. For instance, the model ignores factors such
as motivation, effect and strategy (e.g. mnemonics) which underpin learning.

⮚ Also, rehearsal is not essential to transfer information into LTM. For example,

why are we able to recall information which we did not rehearse (e.g.
swimming) yet unable to recall information which we have rehearsed (e.g.
reading your notes while revising).

⮚ Therefore, the role of rehearsal as a means of transferring from STM to LTM

is much less important than Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) claimed in their
model.
 ⮚ The models main emphasis was on structure and tends to neglect the process

elements of memory (e.g. it only focuses on attention and maintenance

rehearsal). For example, elaboration rehearsal leads to recall of information
than just maintenance rehearsal.

⮚ The multi store model has been criticized for being a passive/one way/linear

model.

Levels of Processing model

The levels of processing model (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) focuses on the depth of processing
involved in memory, and predicts the deeper information is processed, the longer a memory
trace will last.

Craik defined depth as:

"the meaningfulness extracted from the stimulus rather than in terms of the number of
analyses performed upon it.” (1973, p. 48)
Unlike the multi-store model it is a non-structured approach. The basic idea is that memory is
really just what happens as a result of processing information.

Memory is just a by-product of the depth of processing of information, and there is no clear
distinction between short term and long term memory.

Therefore, instead of concentrating on the stores/structures involved (i.e. short term

memory & long term memory), this theory concentrates on the processes involved in
memory.

Shallow processing occurs in four ways:

▪ Structural: Processing how an object or sound looks

▪ Phonemic: When we process how something sounds

▪ Graphemic: Processing letters contained in a word

▪ Orthographic: Processing the shape of something

Deep or semantic processing occurs in three ways:

▪ The process of relating an object/situation etc. to something else

▪ When the meaning of something is thought of

▪ When we process the importance of something

Simply put, the way we process information totally affects the extent that it is memorized
according to the levels of processing model. Deep and semantic processing involves us
thinking deeply about something which causes the memory of it to be easily accessed.
Whereas shallow processing only thinks about the surface of something, meaning it soon
decays and is forgotten.

There are three factors which determine if a memory remains:

▪ Maintenance Rehearsal: The process of repeating the information

▪ Elaborative Rehearsal: When the information is analyzed in a deeper way

▪ Distinctiveness: The ability to tell items apart

According to the levels of processing framework, stimulus information is processed at

multiple levels simultaneously depending upon its characteristics. Furthermore, the “deeper”
the processing, the more that will be remembered. For example, information that involves
strong visual images or many associations with existing knowledge will be processed at a
deeper level. Similarly, information that is being attended to receives more processing than
other stimuli/events. The theory also supports the finding that we remember things that are
meaningful to us because this requires more processing than meaningless stimuli.

Processing of information at different levels is unconscious and automatic unless we attend to

that level. For example, we are normally not aware of the sensory properties of stimuli, or
what we have in working memory, unless we are asked to specifically identify such
information. This suggests that the mechanism of attention is an interruption in processing
rather than a cognitive process in its own right.

There are a number of differences between this and the Atkinson-Shiffrin model. While
the Atkinson-Shiffrin model concentrated on long and short-term memory (STM), the levels
of processing model focuses on the processes that make up memory and does not distinguish
between LTM and STM. According to levels of processing, only elaborative rehearsal
improves LTM while the Atkinson-Shiffrin model suggests that any form of rehearsal leads
to an improvement in LTM. Unlike the Atkinson-Shiffrin model which structured LTM and
STM, levels of processing have no set structure.

Strengths

● Craik & Lockhart's model has a number of strengths. It was the first theory to show

that memory is actually improved when it undergoes deeper processing. This in turn
explained why certain things are better remembered than others. It also proved that
encoding is not a simple process.

● Finally, brain imaging studies showed that higher levels of processing lead to greater

activity levels in different parts of the brain which gives the theory some credence.

Weaknesses

● In terms of weaknesses, the theory is better described than explained. It seems to be a

rather simple explanation for such a complex subject with the terms 'deep' and
'shallow' hardly an all-encompassing look into the theory of memory. The part of the
theory which suggests that shallow processing equals a memory being quickly lost is
not 100% accurate in all cases. Those with illnesses that affect memory cannot be
included in the levels of processing theory.

● Finally, this theory was espoused in 1972 but since then, various neuropsychological

studies have suggested that there are specific systems of storage and structures
contained in our memory.
Working memory model

● Working memory is a limited capacity store for retaining information for a brief
period while performing mental operations on that information.

● Working memory is a multi-component system which includes the central executive,

visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, and episodic buffer.

● Working memory is important for reasoning, learning and comprehension.

● Working memory theories assume that complex reasoning and learning tasks require a
mental workspace to hold and manipulate information.

Baddeley and Hitch (1974) argue that the picture of short-term memory (STM) provided
by the Multi-Store Model is far too simple.

According to the Multi-Store Model, 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).

Therefore, whereas short-term memory can only hold information, working memory can
both retain and process information.

Working memory is short-term memory. However, instead of all information going into
one single store, there are different systems for different types of information.

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.

Visuospatial Sketchpad (inner eye)

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.

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).

1. Phonological Store (inner ear) processes speech perception and stores spoken words
we hear for 1-2 seconds.
2. Articulatory control process (inner voice) processes speech production, and
rehearses and stores verbal information from the phonological store.

The labels given to the components (see fig 2) of the working memory reflect their function
and the type of information they process and manipulate. The phonological loop is assumed
to be responsible for the manipulation of speech based information, whereas the visuospatial
sketchpad is assumed to be responsible for manipulating visual images.
The model proposes that every component of working memory has a limited capacity, and
also that the components are relatively independent of each other.

The Central Executive

The central executive is the most important component of the model, although little is known
about how it functions. It is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the operation of the
slave systems (i.e., visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop) and relates them to long
term memory (LTM).

The central executive decides which information is attended to and which parts of the
working memory to send that information to be dealt with. 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.

The central executive is the most versatile and important component of the working memory
system. However, despite its importance in the working-memory model, we know
considerably less about this component than the two subsystems it controls.

Baddeley suggests that the central executive acts more like a system which controls
attentional processes rather than as a memory store. This is unlike the phonological loop and
the visuospatial sketchpad, which are specialized storage systems. The central executive
enables the working memory system to selectively attend to some stimuli and ignore others.

Baddeley (1986) uses the metaphor of a company boss to describe the way in which the
central executive operates. The company boss makes decisions about which issues deserve
attention and which should be ignored. They also select strategies for dealing with problems,
but like any person in the company, the boss can only do a limited number of things at the
same time. The boss of a company will collect information from a number of different
sources.

If we continue applying this metaphor, then we can see the central executive in working
memory integrating (i.e., combining) information from two assistants (the phonological loop
and the visuospatial sketchpad) and also drawing on information held in a large database
(long-term memory).

The Phonological Loop

The phonological loop is the part of working memory that deals with spoken and written
material. It consists of two parts .

The phonological store (linked to speech perception) acts as an inner ear and holds
information in a speech-based form (i.e., spoken words) for 1-2 seconds. Spoken words enter
the store directly. Written words must first be converted into an articulatory (spoken) code
before they can enter the phonological store.

The articulatory control process (linked to speech production) acts like an inner voice
rehearsing information from the phonological store. It circulates information round and round
like a tape loop. This is how we remember a telephone number we have just heard. As long as
we keep repeating it, we can retain the information in working memory.
The articulatory control process also converts written material into an articulatory code and
transfers it to the phonological store.

The Visuospatial Sketchpad

The visuospatial sketchpad (inner eye) deals with visual and spatial information. Visual
information refers to what things look like. It is likely that the visuospatial sketchpad plays an
important role in helping us keep track of where we are in relation to other objects as we
move through our environment (Baddeley, 1997).

As we move around, our position in relation to objects is constantly changing and it is

important that we can update this information. For example, being aware of where we are in
relation to desks, chairs and tables when we are walking around a classroom means that we
don't bump into things too often!

The sketchpad also displays and manipulates visual and spatial information held in long-term
memory. For example, the spatial layout of your house is held in LTM. Try answering this
question: How many windows are there in the front of your house?

You probably find yourself picturing the front of your house and counting the windows. An
image has been retrieved from LTM and pictured on the sketchpad.

Evidence suggests that working memory uses two different systems for dealing with visual
and verbal information. A visual processing task and a verbal processing task can be
performed at the same time.

It is more difficult to perform two visual tasks at the same time because they interfere with
each other and performance is reduced. The same applies to performing two verbal tasks at
the same time. This supports the view that the phonological loop and the sketchpad are
separate systems within working memory.

The Episodic Buffer

The original model was updated by Baddeley (2000) after the model failed to explain the
results of various experiments. An 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.
Researchers today generally agree that short-term memory is made up of a number of
components or subsystems. The working memory model has replaced the idea of a unitary
(one part) STM as suggested by the multistore model.

The working memory model explains a lot more than the multistore model. It makes sense of
a range of tasks - verbal reasoning, comprehension, reading, problem-solving and visual and
spatial processing. And the model is supported by considerable experimental evidence.

The working memory applies to real-life tasks:

- reading (phonological loop)

- problem solving (central executive)

- navigation (visual and spatial processing)

The KF Case Study supports the Working Memory Model. KF suffered brain damage from a
motorcycle accident that damaged his short-term memory. KF's impairment was mainly for
verbal information - his memory for visual information was largely unaffected. This shows
that there are separate STM components for visual information (VSS) and verbal information
(phonological loop).

Working memory is supported by dual-task studies (Baddeley and Hitch, 1976).

The working memory model does not over emphasize the importance of rehearsal for
STM retention, in contrast to the multi-store model.

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. Lieberman argues that the VSS
should be separated into two different components: one for visual information and one
for spatial.

● 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.

 ● Working memory only involves STM, so it is not a comprehensive model of

memory (as it does not include SM or LTM).

● The working memory model does not explain changes in processing ability that occur

as the result of practice or time

● Despite providing more detail of STM than the multi-store model, the WMM has been

criticized for being too simplistic and vague, e.g. it is unclear what the central
executive is, or its exact role in attention

Strengths

● Unlike some other models (eg, the short-term store model), the working memory

model explains not only the storage, but also the processing of information.

● Specificity. Because the model proposes specific and separate functions and

subsystems, new predictions and hypotheses can be drawn up for testing.

● It is consistent with records of brain-damaged patients. For example the visuo-spatial

sketch pad is said to be made of two parts, the visual cache which stores information
about colour and form, and the inner scribe, which processes spatial and movement
information. Patient ‘LH’ had more difficulty with visual tasks than spatial tasks,
which probably means that there is a different part of the brain controlling these
things; just as the model suggests (1). Another example is ‘KF’, whose forgetting of
auditory stimuli was higher than visual stimuli. (2) There are quite a few cases like
this, which support the model.

● The model integrates a large number of research findings. As well as studies on brain

damaged patients, there is also experimental evidence which supports the model (eg.,
Baddeley and his colleagues’ word-length effect (3) supporting the phonological
loop), and a number of brain-scan studies have found different brain regions to
activate when people carry out tasks involving the different components of working
memory
 ● A previous model placed enormous importance on verbal rehearsal for transferring

information into long-term memory; this doesn’t match up well with our day-to-day
experience. In the working memory model, verbal rehearsal is noted as one way to
encode and store information, but there are other routes too (visual stimuli, the
episodic buffer, etc). From this point of view, it’s more realistic.

● The working memory has a strong role in cognitive psychology and can be used to

study other theorised systems and processes in the brain (eg., consciousness), by
seeing how they relate to working memory. A perfect example of this, is how the
central executive allows researchers to look into how memory relates to attention.

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