Working Memory Model

• Central Executive Function

  To receive information from the slave systems and then made decisions and reasoning. Capacity is Limited. Manipulates al information so has no particular coding
• Phonological Loop

  Slave system dealing with auditory information containing 2 sub systems ( articulatory control system and phonological store ). Capacity is 2s worth of information and is coded acoustically.
• Articulatory Control System

  The inner voice - Verbal rehearsal with a memory trace of 1.5 to 2 seconds if not refreshed determined by how many words spoken in 2 seconds
• Phonological Store

  Inner ear Can also receive information directly from STM or LTM
• Visuospatial Sketchpad

  Slave system holding visual and spatial information, and Manipulates images. Can hold 3-4 objects and is visually coded.
• Episodic Buffer

  Provides a temporary store for information received by the CE and communicate with both the LTM and component of working memory model . Capacity is limited and is not coded by 1 specific sense
• Central Executive Evidence

  Baddeley found P’s found it difficult to generate a random list of numbers while simultaneously switching between letters and numbers, showing that the central executive can only effectively deal with one piece of information
• Central Executive Evidence


  Braver et Al gave P’s a task to perform while having a brain scan. There was greater activity in the prefrontal cortex as task got more difficult, showing as demand on central executive increases it has to work harder
• There is lack of clarity ( empirical evidence) on the central executive as it does not explain much and is unsatisfactory
• Phonological loop evidence

  Patient KF suffered brain damage and had poor short term memory ability for verbal information struggling with sounds, however could easily recall visual information like letters and digits. Shows there is separate visual and acoustic stores. This is a case study so data cannot be generalised
• Phonological Loop Evidence

  Badeley studied word length effect and found that P’s found it easier to remember a list of short words rather than long length words as there is limited space for rehearsal in the articulatory process ( 2 seconds worth )
• Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad Evidence

  Baddeley found P’s found it difficult to perform 2 visual tasks like following a light tracker and describing the letter F, as both tasks are competing for the same slave system. P’s found it easier to do a visual and verbal task as there was no competition, so there must be separate slave systems
• Visio-Spatial Sketchpad Evidence

  Pet scans show different brain areas are activated when doing a visual and verbal task so the phonological loop and VSS are physically separate as they are in separate regions.
• Episodic Buffer evidence

  Alkalifa reported on a patient with a severely impaired LTM but demonstrated the capacity of a STM of 25 items exceeding the capacity of the VSS and PLL suggesting the existence of the episodic buffer, holding items in the working memory till recalled