Working Memory Model

• The working memory model (WMM) is a more detailed version of the working of the short-term memory, and was created by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974
• Central executive


  the most important part of the WMM because it allocates the slave systems to their tasks, but not much is known about it. It has a limited capacity
• Episodic buffer


  a general store for information that isn't visual or acoustic, and allows for communication between the central executive and the LTM. It has a limited capacity of about 4 chunks
• Visual-spatial sketchpad

  helps to rehearse visual of spatial information, and is made up of the visual cache which stores visual data, and inner scribe which deals with spatial information
• Phonological loop


  consists of 2 slave systems - the phonological store and the articulatory process
• Phonological store


  acts as an inner ear and stores auditory information
• Articulatory process


  acts as an inner voice and is responsible for maintenance rehearsal
• Dual-task performance:

  • the ability of doing 2 things at once
  • the WMM suggests we have to use 2 different slave systems in order to have a good dual-task performance otherwise we won't be able to
• Dual-task performance supports the WMM because there are laws that prove you have to use 2 different slave systems for it:

  • driving and texting is illegal, and both use the same slave system (visual-spatial sketchpad), which is more likely to end in a crash
  • driving and talking on the phone hands-free is legal, and they both use different slave systems (articulatory process and visual-spatial sketchpad), which is less likely to end in a crash
• The case of KF:

  • KF was in a motorbike crash that damaged his brain
  • psychologists found that the visual part of his STM was completely fine but the acoustic part was lost
• The case of KF supports the WMM as it suggests that we have different parts of the STM - the visual-spatial sketchpad which KF retained, and the phonological loop which he lost
• Lack of clarity:

  • psychologists claim that the WMM is too simplistic and vague, especially the central executive and episodic buffer
  • lack of knowledge on the WMM means that we won't know how to maximise the abilities of the STM, so we can't help improve people's memories
• Use of lab studies:

  • lab studies are carried out in a controlled laboratory environment
  • has low ecological validity as the environment is completely unnatural
  • has high internal validity as there are no uncontrolled extraneous variables
  • the memory tests are unrealistic
  • the studies carried out can explain real-life behaviour