WORKING MEMORY SHOULD BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE
-IDEAS OF LIMITED CAPACITY
-IDEAS OF MULTIPLE FORMS OF ENCODING
-BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE TWO SEPARABLE FUNCTIONS: MAINTAINING INFORMATION, AND MANIPULATING (OR WORKING) WITH THE INFORMATION BEING MAINTAINED
-DISCUSS THE FLUID INTERACTION WITH INFORMATION IN PERMANENT MEMORY (LTM)
-DESCRIBE HOW PEOPLE CAN COMPENSATE FOR REDUCTIONS IN CAPACITY, SO THAT PERFORMANCE STAYS HIGH

THE METAPHOR OF THE WORK BENCH

-IF ONE HAS LIMITED CAPACITY, THEN AS ONE PLACES MORE INFORMATION FOR MAINTENANCE, HAS LESS CAPAPCITY LEFT OVER FOR WORKING (AND ANALAGOUSLY, IF ONE HAS VERY COMPLEX MENTAL OPERATIONS THAT ONE IS ATTEMPTING TO PERFORM, THEN ONE HAS LESS SPACE LEFT
OVER FOR MAINTENANCE)

-ARGUES FOR A TRADE-OFF BETWEEN AMOUNT REMEMBERED AND THE SOPHISTICATION OF THE WORK ONE CAN DO ON THE MAINTAINED INFORMATION

2 CAN ONE SHOW THE PREDICTED TRADE-OFF BETWEEN MAINTAINING AND WORKING WITH INFORMATION

EXPERIMENTAL LOGIC: USES DUAL TASK METHODOLOGY (SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN DIVIDED ATTENTION; WITH SEPARATE RESOURCES)

A STUDY:
 

TASK #1:	AN IMS TASK -can manipulate the length of the span: either 2 or 6 items)
TASK #2:	(TO BE DONE BEFORE MEMORY FOR TASK #1 IS REQUIRED; THUS IS DONE SIMULTANEOUSLY WHILE PEOPLE ARE MAINTAINING ITEMS IN MEMORY) -a task that involves central executive functioning: such as a logic task (present letters AB and a sentence: B PRECEDES A); TASK IS TO DECIDE WHETHER THE SENTENCE ACCURATELY DESCRIBES THE PRESENTED LETTERS: -MEASURE ACCURACY, RT
NOW:	ASK FOR RECALL OF THE ITEMS (TASK 1) -CAN GETA MEASURE OF ACCURACY

WHEN THE IMS (TASK #1) WAS ONLY 2 ITEMS LONG

RT (TASK #2 alone)= 3.2 SEC
RT (TASK #2, DONE SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH TASK #1 )=3.3 SEC
MEMORY (TASK #1 ALONE)=MEMORY (TASK #1 + TASK #2)=2.O

WHEN THE IMS TASK WAS 6 ITEMS LONG
AND CORRECT RECALL STRESSED
MEMORY (ALONE)= 5.8 ITEMS
MEMORY (WITH LOGIC TASK)=5.O ITEMS

RT (TASK #2 ALONE)= 2.7 SEC
RT (TASK #2, TASK #1 DONE SIMULTANEOUSLY)=47 SEC

AND WHEN NO EMPHASIS GIVEN TO MEMORY
MEMORY ALONE= 5.5 ITEMS
MEMORY (WITH LOGIC TASK)= 3.7 ITEMS

RT (TASK #2 ALONE) = 3.3 SEC
RT (TASK #2, DONE AT SAME TIME AS MEMORY TASK)=3.6 SEC

IE. PEOPLE TRADE-OFF GOOD MEMORY FOR POORER PERFORMANCE ON THE LOGIC TASK OR VICE-VERSA

1. THE ROLE OF THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE IN ALZHEIMERS DISEASE

ARGUES THAT ONE ASPECT OF THE DISEASE IS THE INABILITY TO COORDINATE THE ACTIVITIES OF THE TWO SLAVE SYSTEMS

STUDY:
GET GROUPS OF HEALTHY YOUNG, HEALTHY AGED AND AGED-CONTROL ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE PATIENTS

-PRETEST EACH GROUP SO THAT PERFORMANCE ON A VSSP TASK (TRACKING) AND A PHONOLOGICAL LOOP TASK (MEMORY SPAN) IS EQUIVALENT

-NOW EXAMINE PERFORMANCE WHEN Ss ARE REQUIRED TO DO BOTH TASKS SIMULTANEOUSLY (IE KEEP DIGITS IN MEMORY WHILE TRACKING)

FIND HEALTHY YOUNG AND HEALTHY AGED PERFORM EQUALLY WELL

BUT LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ALZHEIMERS PATIENTS

MEMORY IN THE AGEING, IS FOUND (ALBEIT NOT AS PROFOUNDLY AS MOST BELIEVE.. . FOUND ON SOME TASKS AND NOT OTHERS).. THE PATTERN OF RESULTS SUGGEST TO SOME THAT AS WE AGE WE LOSE WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY

BUT NOTE:
EVIDENCE THAT, WITH WELL-ESTABLISHED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS, ONE CAN COMPENSATE (IF ONE HOLDS LESS IN WORKING MEMORY, BUT WORKS ON IT DIFFERENTLY TO MAINTAIN HIGH LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE)

EXAMPLE: FROM CHESS

EXAMPLE: FROM TYPING

DANEMAN AND CARPENTER

USE A TASK THAT INVOLVES BOTH THIS MAINTAINANCE AND WORKING ASPECTS, PHONOLOGICAL LOOP

SIMILAR TO I.M.S.:
EXCEPT PRESENT A SENTENCE; ASK FOR RECALL OF THE LAST WORD

PRESENT TWO SENTENCES, ASK FOR RECALL OF LAST WORD OF BOTH SENTENCES

PRESENT THREE SENTENCES, ASK FOR RECALL OF LAST WORD OF ALL THREE SENTENCES
ETC.

FIND RELIABLE DIFFERENCES IN PERFORMANCE

ARGUE THIS DIFFERENCE SHOULD BE REFLECTED IN LANGUAGE RELATED TASKS

SUCH AS: DISAMBIGUATION, USE OF CONTEXT, ANAPHORA

CONSIDER READING:
THE MAN WENT TO THE SEWER. WHILE THERE, HE NOTICED THAT THE NEEDLE WAS BROKEN. HE ASKED THE PERSON AT THE SEWING MACHINE TO BE CAREFUL.

WHAT WENT ON IN YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU FIRST ENCOUNTERED THE WORD "SEWER"