A01

• Working memory has four components: central executive (CE) visuospatial sketchpad (VSSP), phonological loop (PL) and episodic buffer (EB).
• Visuospatial Sketchpad (VSSP): stores visual +/ spatial info.

  • limited capacity : 3 --> 4 objects
  • 2 components : Visual cache + Inner scribe 

  • Visual cache - stores visual info.
  • Inner scribe - processes visual info.
• Episodic Buffer (EB): 2000

  • integrates info. from the VSSP and PL to form complex memories that can be linked with other memories.
  • limited capacity - 4 chunkz
  • temporary store for info
  • links WM -> LTM
  • adds a sense of time sequencing
• Central Executive (CE):

  
  

  • Drives the whole working memory system

  •It is an ‘attentional process’

  •= decides how attention is directed

  •And allocates the resources needed

  •Has no storage capacity

  •Has limited capacity so cannot attend to many things at once

  •but can process information from any sensory modality
• Phonological Loop (PL):

  stores auditory info.

  Limited capacity : believed to be 2s worth of what you can say

  Baddeley + Hitch (1986) - info. into subcomponents

  Phonological store - stores verbal info.

  Articulatory Process - processes verbal info.