Working memory model

• Working memory model can be called WMM
• WMM is an explanation of how one aspect of memory (STM) is organised and how it functions
• The working memory model was developed by Baddeley & Hitch
• WMM is concerned with the "mental space" that is active when we are temporarily storing and manipulating information
• The WMM consists of 4 main components
• The central executive has a supervisory role in the WMM
• The central executive is the component of the WMM that co-ordinates the activities of the three subsystems in memory
• The central executive also allocates processing resources to the activities the subsystems do
• One of the WMM's subsystems is the phonological loop
• The phonological loop deals with auditory information and preserves the order in which the information arrives
• The phonological loop's coding is acoustic
• The central executive has very limited processing capacity and doesn't store information
• The phonological loop is subdivided into 2 parts
• What are the 2 subdivisions of the phonological loop?

  Phonological store and the articulatory process
• The phonological store stores the words you hear
• The articulatory process allows maintenance rehearsal, where you repeat sounds/words in a loop to keep them in the WMM while they are needed
• The articulatory processes loop has a capacity of 2 seconds worth of what you can say
• The visuo-spatial sketchpad stores visual information when required, for example if you were asked to work out how many windows are on your house you will visualise it
• The visuo-spatial sketchpad has a limited capacity of about three to four objects according to Baddeley
• The visuo-spatial sketchpad can be divided into 2 subdivisions
• What are the 2 subdivisions of visuo-spatial sketchpad?

  Visual cache and inner scribe
• The visual cache stores visual data
• The inner scribe records the arrangement of objects in the visual field
• The central executive part of WMM is the most important
• The episodic buffer brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands
• The episodic buffer provides a bridge between working memory and long-term memory
• The episodic buffer is a temporary store
• The episodic buffer has a limited capacity of about 4 chunks
• The phonological loop contributes to our learning of the sounds of language
• The phonological loop assesses LTM to store and retrieve information about language sounds which allows us to develop vocabulary as children
• The VSS contributes to our understanding of "visual semantics" - the meanings of objects in our visual environment
• The VSS can access LTM to store and retrieve visuo-spatial information, for example remembering an image of something from LTM
• This is the WMM

  
• What are the 4 main components of WMM?

  Central executive

  Phonological loop

  Visuo-spatial sketchpad

  Episodic buffer
• The central executive has a supervisory role
• The episodic buffer integrates information from systems
• The phonological loop deals with auditory information and its order
• The articulatory control process allows maintenance rehearsal
• Maintenance rehearsal is repeating sounds or words in a loop to keep them in working memory while they are needed
• The capacity of the maintenance rehearsal loop is believed to be 2 seconds worth of what you can say in your inner voice