Our mission - analysis of the question

 

Essay title: Evaluate the concept of working memory.

Length: 1500 words maximum

 

Subject: the concept of working memory.

Instruction: evaluate the above.

 

Evaluate - to ascertain the value of. To examine and judge carefully; appraise.

 

What do I need to do to to fulfil this remit? First of all, I need to explain what is meant by working memory. It’s probably not clear cut. Different theorists and researchers have probably conceptualised it in divers ways, so I’ll need to summarise some of these. Not too many, though, because I only have 1500 words and I need to concentrate on evaluation. Perhaps three? Maybe I could try for thesis, antithesis and synthesis. That’s a good approach from the perspective of narrative tension – always fun to include something revolutionary or contentious. Or perhaps an historical approach. Maybe the two coincide, which would be handy.

 

Ahead of doing any detailed reading, I imagine that my evaluation might be in terms of the usefulness of the concept of working memory. How well does it correspond with observable reality? Based on this concept, can we make predictions in an experimental setting? Have some psychologists done better than others in this regard? Of course, each assertion will be supported with evidence. If available, it would be interesting to have evidence derived from a variety of sources, eg. experimentation, high tech imaging studies, physiological studies. There’s all this talk about functional imaging being a new window on cognitive processes, so I shouldn’t overlook that. I’ll also look carefully for any gaps in the rationale surrounding each piece of evidence. Do I have reasonable doubt?

 

Next action: Get in the mood! Read about working memory in two general textbooks (Complete Psychology and Michael Eysenck’s Cognitive Psychology) and, just for laughs, have a look through Scientific American and Sci Am Mind. Read up a bit on Neisser’s work.

 

 

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