Robbins

#stu

Aim

To investigate the effect of blocking the visuo-spatial sketchpad, Phonological loop, and Central Executive on working memory.

Method

20M chess players (mix of strong and weak)

1. Memorized position of 16 chess pieces in 10 seconds, whilst generating random letter sequences
2. Same players memorized position of 16 chess pieces in 10 seconds, whilst saying 'the, the, the...'
   After 10 seconds P's were asked to replicate the arrangement on a separate chess board.

Result

- Players who repeated "the" performed well in recalling positions of chess pieces

• Those assigned to letter generation performed poorly

Conclusion

The central executive and Visuo-spatial sketchpad play a role in remembering chess positions.
The phonological loop was not involved in remembering chess positions.

Evaluation

1. Sample Size: The study employed a relatively small sample size of 20 chess players. This limited sample size might restrict the generalizability of the findings. To enhance the study's validity, future research should aim for larger and more diverse samples.

2. Participant Characteristics: The study included chess players with varying skill levels. While this can provide insights into the general population of chess players, it is important to note that the findings may not be directly applicable to individuals who are not familiar with chess.

3. Task Design: The tasks used in the study involved memorizing the positions of chess pieces within a specific time frame. While this is relevant to chess players, it may not fully represent the complexities of working memory in real-life situations. Further research is needed to explore the generalizability of these findings to other memory tasks.

4. External Factors: The study did not explicitly address potential confounding factors or control for external variables that might have influenced the results. Variables such as fatigue, motivation, and prior cognitive abilities could have impacted the participants' performance. Future studies should consider controlling for these factors to obtain more accurate and reliable results.

5. Limited Cognitive Components: The study focused only on three components of working memory: the visuo-spatial sketchpad, phonological loop, and central executive. Other components, such as the episodic buffer, were not considered. Including a broader range of cognitive components would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the working memory system.