The working memory model

• Central executive

  • The component of the WMM that co-ordinate the activities of the three subsystems in memory
  • It also allocates processing resources of those activities
• Phonological loop

  • The component of the WMM that processes information in terms of sound
  • This includes both written and spoken material
  • its divided into the phonological store and the articulatory process
• Visuo-spatial sketchpad

  • The component of the WMM that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space
  • Often called our ‘inner eye’
• Episodic buffer

  • The component of the WMM that brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands
  • Also provides a bridge between working memory and long term memory
• What is the working memory model (WMM)

  • The WMM ( Baddeley and Hitch,1974) explains how short term memory is organised and functions, acting as a “mental space“ for temporarily storing and manipulating information
• What are the four main components of the working memory model

  1. Central executive
  2. Phonological loop
  3. Visuo-spatial sketchpad
  4. Episodic buffer
• What is the role of the central executive

  • Monitors incoming data, divides attention, allocated tasks to subsystems
  • Has very limited processing capacity but does not store information
• What does the phonological loop do

  Deals with auditory information ( codes acoustically) and preserves the order in which it arrives
• What are the two subdivisions of the phonological loop

  1. phonological store- stores words you hear
  2. Articulatory process- allows maintenance rehearsal ( repeating words or sounds in a loop to keep them in working memory )
• What is the visuo - spatial sketchpad

  • It stores visual and spatial information
  • Helping visualise and process images, with a limited capacity of about 3-4 objects ( Baddeley 2003)
• What are the two subdivisions of the Visio-spatial sketchpad

  1. visual cache- stores visual data
  2. Inner scribe - records arrangement of objects in the visual field
• What is function of the episodic buffer

  • Acts as the storage component of the central executiveMonitors incoming, has a capacity of about. 4 chunks
  • Links working memory to long term memory and cognitive processes like perception
• What is the episodic buffer

  • Added by Baddeley in 2000
  • A temporary store integrating visual, spatial and verbal information and maintaining time sequencing
• What clinical evidence supports the WMM

  • case study of patient KF( shallice and warrington,1970)
  • After brain injury , KF had poor short term memory for auditory information, but could process visual information normally
  • Supporting the idea of separate visual and acoustic memory stores
• How did KF’s brain injury affect his memory

  • KF had impaired auditory STM but intact visual STM
  • Meaning he recalled letters and digits better when reading them than when hearing them
• What is a counterpoint to KF’s case study as support for the WMM

  • it is unclear if KF had other cognitive impairments due to his motorcycle accident, which could have affected his memory performance beyond just damage to his phonological loop
• How does dual-task performance support the WMM

  • Baddeley et al (1975) found that participants could perform a visual and verbal task simultaneously with little difficulty
  • But performing two visual or two verbal tasks together caused a decline in performance
  • Supporting the existence of separate systems
• What is a limitation of the central executive in the WMM

  • There is a lack of clarity about its function
  • Baddeley (2003) called it “ the most important but least understood” component , and some psychologists suggest it may consist of multiple subcomponents
• How does the unclear nature of the central executive challenge the WMM

  • The lack of specificity weakens the models validity
  • As it is not well-defined beyond simply directing attention
• Does does the validity of the WMM depend on dual-task studies

  • Dual-task studies support the model by showing that tasks sharing the same subsystem are harder to perform together than those involving separate subsystems
• What is the criticism of dual -task studies supporting WMM

  • The tasks used in these studies (e.g identifying letter sequences ) are artificial and nor representative of everyday memory use, making the findings less generalisable