A01 The working memory model

• STM

  Working memory model is an explanation of one aspect of memory which is STM and how it is organised and how it works
• Concern of working memory model

  WMM is concerned with the part of the mind which is active when we are temporarily storing and manipulating information.
• Components in working memory model

  This model consists of 4 components which are all qualitatively different in terms of capacity and coding
• Central executive

  An attentional process that monitors incoming data, makes decisions and allocates slave systems to tasks: has very limited processing capacity
• Phonological loop

  One of the slave systems that deals with auditory information and presents the order in which information arrives and the capacity of this store is 2 seconds' worth of what you can say
• Different stores in phonological loop

  Phonological loop subdivided into phonological store- stores words you hear and articulatory store- allows maintenance rehearsal.
• Visuo-spatial sketchpad

  Second slave system which stores visual and/or spatial information when required. An example of this is an image of your windows coming up when asked how many windows you have
• Capacity of Visuo-Spatial sketchpad


  Limited capacity and according to Baddeley 3/4 objects
• Different stores in Visuo-Spatial sketchpad

  Logie subdivided VSS into visual cache- stores visual data and inner scribe- records arrangement of objects in visual field
• Episodic buffer

  Third slave system which is a temporary store for information integrating the visual, spatial and verbal information processed by other stores
• Time sequencing

  Episodic buffer maintains a time sequence- recording episodes that are happening and the time order in which things are done
• Storage component

  Episodic buffer can be seen as a storage component of the central executive and has limited capacity of 4 chunks according to Baddeley.
• LTM

  Episodic buffer links memory to LTM and wider cognitive processes such as perception