Working Memory Model

• • Key theorists Baddeley and Hitch
  • Updated model of short term memory
  • Working memory is STM however instead of all the information going into one single store, there are different systems for different types of information
  • Proposes that STM store is an active processor, STM is not a unitary store, it is flexible and complex system consisting of several components.
• The central executive controls three 'slave' systems:

  • phonological loop
  • visuo-spatial sketchpad
  • episodic buffer

  It:

  • controls attentional resources (decides which information is attended to).
  • has limited capacity
  • can only tend to a limited number of things at one time. It is the supervisory component.
• Phonological loop: slave system

  • deals with auditory/sound based information
  • has the phonological store 'inner ear' (short-term storage system)
  • has the articulatory process 'inner voice' (active rehearsal system which allows information to be kept in the memory by sub-vocal repetition)
• Visuo-spatial sketchpad: Slave system

  • also known as 'inner eye'
  • limited capacity
  • temporary memory storage system which helps people to navigate and interact with their physical environment
  • has a visual cache (temporary visual store)
  • has an inner scribe (a rehearsal mechanism)
• Episodic buffer: Slave system

  • temporary store
  • responsible for integrating the visuospatial and verbal information from the other stores into a logical segment.
  • limited capacity of about 4 chunks