Working Memory Model

• The Working Memory Model, proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974, describes short-term memory as a system with multiple components
• Components of the Working Memory Model:

  • Central Executive: controls attention and coordinates the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
  • Phonological Loop: handles auditory information
  • Visuospatial Sketchpad: processes visual and spatial information
  • Episodic Buffer: integrates information across systems and links to long-term memory
• Central Executive:

  • Drives the system and allocates data to the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
  • Handles cognitive tasks like mental arithmetic and problem-solving
• Visuospatial Sketchpad:

  • Stores and processes visual or spatial information
  • Used for tasks like navigation
• Phonological Loop:

  • Deals with spoken and written material
  • Includes the phonological store (speech-based information) and articulatory process (repeating verbal information)
• Phonological Store:

  • Processes speech perception and stores spoken words for 1-2 seconds
• Articulatory Control Process:

  • Processes speech production, rehearses, and stores verbal information from the phonological store
• Episodic Buffer:

  • Acts as a "backup" store communicating with long-term memory and working memory components
• The Working Memory Model reflects the function and type of information processed by each component
• The model proposes that each component of working memory has a limited capacity and operates relatively independently
• The Central Executive is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad, relating them to long-term memory
• The Central Executive directs attention, prioritizes activities, and controls attentional processes
• The Phonological Loop deals with spoken and written material, consisting of the phonological store and articulatory control process
• The Visuospatial Sketchpad processes visual and spatial information, aiding in navigation and updating spatial information
• The Episodic Buffer was added to the model to explain results of experiments and acts as a communication link between long-term memory and working memory
• Working memory consists of separate components for visual information (VSS) and verbal information (phonological loop)
• The working memory model does not emphasize the importance of rehearsal for short-term memory retention, unlike the multi-store model
• Empirical evidence for working memory is supported by dual-task studies, such as the one conducted by Baddeley and Hitch in 1976
• Dual-task studies predict that tasks using the same component of working memory cannot be performed successfully together, while tasks using different components can be performed together or separately
• In the study by Baddeley and Hitch (1976), participants performed a digit span task and a verbal reasoning task simultaneously, showing that different parts of working memory were used for each task
• Brain imaging studies have attempted to identify distinct neural correlates for the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad in the multi-component model
• Neuroimaging studies have shown activation in different brain regions for tasks involving phonological storage and visuospatial tasks, but the results remain complex and controversial
• The distributed and interactive nature of working memory makes clear anatomical localization unlikely, according to Baddeley (2012)
• Working memory processes are closely related to attention, perception, and long-term memory systems, making it challenging to definitively validate the separable storage components in the multi-component framework
• Studies have shown that information held in working memory can be decoded from patterns of activity associated with long-term memory for that content
• The working memory model is an improved version of the short-term memory store in the multi-store model
• The working memory model consists of the central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, and episodic buffer
• The central executive is the part of the model that pays attention to information from the senses and controls the other components
• The phonological loop processes auditory information like sounds and words, consisting of the phonological store and articulatory process
• The visuospatial sketchpad processes visual and spatial information, including a visual cache and inner scribe
• The episodic buffer integrates and stores information from visual, acoustic, and long-term memory stores
• In the working memory model, the phonological loop has an acoustic coding and a capacity of what can be said in two seconds
• The central executive in the working memory model has a limited capacity of four items plus or minus one
• Dual task performance studies show the separation between the slave systems in the working memory model
• Criticism of the working memory model includes the concept of the central executive not being fully operationalized
• The working memory model is more accurate in describing short-term memory as an active processor compared to the short-term memory store
• One criticism of the working memory model is the reliance on laboratory studies, which may lack external validity
• Cognitive psychologists make inferences about the working memory model based on observed behavior
• The WMM (Baddeley and Hitch 1974) is an aspect of how STM is organised and how it functions.

  It is concerned with the 'mental space' that is active when we are temporarily storing and manipulating information, e.g. playing chess or comprehending language.

  The model consists of four components which are qualitatively different in terms of coding and capacity.
• 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙊𝙉𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙎:

  • central executive
  • phonological loop
  • visuospatial sketchpad
  • episodic buffer