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
• Working memory is a limited capacity store for retaining information briefly while performing mental operations
• Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s multi-store model was successful but had limitations, leading to the development of the Working Memory Model by Baddeley and Hitch
• 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