The Working Memory Model (WMM)

• Who developed the Working Memory Model (WMM)?

  Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch (1974).
• What is the Working Memory Model (WMM)?

  An explanation of how short-term memory (STM) is organised and how it functions. It sums up the "mental space" that is active when working on an STM problem or task.
• What is the Working Memory Model (WMM) made up of?

  The central executive, the visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSS), long-term memory (LTM), the episodic buffer and the phonological loop.
• What is the function of the central executive?

  It monitors incoming data, focuses and divides our limited attention and allocates subsystems to tasks. The CE has a very limited processing capacity and does not store information.
• What is the phonological loop divided into?

  • The phonological store
  • The articulatory process
• What is the function of the phonological store?

  It is a passive store which temporarily retains words heard.
• What is the function of the articulatory store?

  It is an active process which retains words read and heard via maintenance rehearsal.
• What is the function of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?

  To store visual and spatial information when required.
• What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad divided into and who proposed the idea?

  Robert Logie divided the VSS into:

  • The visual cache, which stores visual data.
  • The inner scribe, which records the arrangement of objects in the visual field.
• What is the function of the episodic buffer?

  It is a temporary store for information, integrating the visual, spatial and verbal information processed by other stores and maintaining a sense of time sequencing.