Working memory model

• Working memory


  The section of memory you are using when working on something
• Created by

  Braddeley and Hitch in 1978
• Working model of memory- Characteristics

  • Both retain and process infomation
  • Different systems for different types of infomation
  • Four components
• WORKING MEMORY MODEL

  A) Central executive

  B) Visio-spatial sketchpad

  C) Long term memory

  D) Phonological store

  E) articulacy process

  F) Episodic buffer

  
• Central executive

  • Monitors incoming information
  • Directs attention/ coordinates tasks
  • Monitors the slave system
  • Limited processing capacity
  • Modality free
• Phonological loop


  Divided into:

  Phonological store

  Articulatory process
• Phonological store:

  • Like and inner ear
  • Hold acoustic information
  • Limited capacity
• Articulatory Process

  • Like and inner voice
  • Processes speach production and stores verbal information
  • Silently repeats sounds or words in working memory while they are needed
• Visual spatial sketch pad

  • Inner eye
  • Temporary storage of visual and spatial information
  • Visual coding
  • Can hold 3-4 items
• Visual spacial sketch pad- Visual cache


  A store of what you see
• Visual spatial sketch pad- Inner scribe


  Calculation of where it is
• Episodic buffer (2000)

  • Integrator- temporary store of information
  • Combined spatial visual and verbal information
  • Links WMM to LTM
  • Modality free
  • Storage component of CE
  • Capacity of 4 chunks
• Evaluation- Strength


  DUAL TASK EXPERIMENT

  • A visual task and verbal task can be performed at the same time
  • It is more difficult to perform two of the same type of tasks at the same time
• Evaluation- Strength (KF 1970)

  • Had brain damage in a motorcycle accident wich lead to amnesia
  • STM was poor when he was read digits but good when he read it himself
  • poor auditory and good visual
• Counterpoint- KF case


  Small sample size so limited accuracy
• Evaluation- Strength-real world application

  • Children with ADHD have issues with working memory
  • Helps devise intervention for ADHD (e.g splitting a large task into lots of small ones)
• Evaluation- Limitation CE

  • Nature of CE not fully understood
  • Lacks evidence
  • Difficult to test or measure
  • May have several components