the WMM is an explanation of how one aspect of memory (STM) is organised and how it functions
components of the working memory model
the model consist of 4 main components
what is the role of the central executive
supervisory role
monitors incoming data, focuses and divides our limited attention
allocates subsystems to tasks
capacity of the central executive
very limited processing capacity
what are the divisions of the phonological loop
the phonological store
articulatory process
role of the phonological loop
a subsystem that deals with auditory information and preserves the order in which the information arrives
what is the phonological store
a store of the words you hear
what is the role of the articulatory process
it allows maintenance rehearsal
capacity of the articulatory process
2 seconds worth of what you can say
what is the role of the visuo-spatial sketchpad
second subsystem
stores visual and/or spatial information when required
capacity of the visuo-spatial sketchpad
Baddeley (2003) says the limited capacity is about 3 or 4 objects
what did Logie (1995) divide the VSS into
the visual cache
the inner scribe
what is the visual cache
stores visual data
what is the inner scribe
record the arrangement of objects in the visual field
what is the episodic buffer
the third subsystem
added by Baddeley in 2000
a temporary store for information
role of the episodic buffer
integrates the visual,spatial and verbal information press by other stores
maintains a sense of time sequencing- recording events that are happening
storage component of the central executive
capacity of the episodic buffer
limited capacity of about four chunks (Baddeley2012)
strengths of the WMM
evidence from research- Shallice and Warrington1970case study of KF
dual task performance support- shows there must be separate subsystems
limitations of WMM
lack of detail of the central executive - Baddeley says 'the central executive is the most important but the least understood component of working memory'