the working memory model

• the working memory model

  the working memory model by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) is an explanation of how one aspect of memory within the short term memory is organised and how it functions which consists of four compartments: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and episodic buffer
• central executive (CE)

  the central executive has a 'supervisory role' as it monitors incoming data, focuses and divides our limited attention and allocates subsystems

  it has a very limited processing capacity so passes on information to other stores and does not store information
• phonological loop (PL)

  one of the subsystems is the phonological loop which deals with auditory information and preserves the order it arrives in, it is subdivided into:

  the phonological store - which stores the words you hear

  the articulatory process - which allows maintenance rehearsal, the capacity of this loop is believed to be 2 seconds worth of what you can see
• visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSS)

  the second subsystem is the visuo-spatial sketchpad which stores visual/or spatial information when required for example how many windows are in your house you visualise it, it has a limited capacity of three or four objects according to Baddeley (2003) and Logie (1995) subdivided the VSS into:

  the visual cache - which stores visual data

  the inner scribe - which records the arrangement of objects in the visual field
• episodic buffer (EB)

  this was added to the model by Baddeley (2000) it is a temporary store for information, integrating the visual, spatial and verbal information processed by other stores and maintaining a sense of time sequencing

  it has limited capacity of about four chunks and links the working memory to the long term memory
• the working memory model evaluation strengths

  support from Shallice and Warrington(1970) studied a man, KF, who after brain damage had greater impaired loss of auditory than visual information, provides evidence for the existence of two separate stores for auditory (PL) and visual (VSS) information in the STM

  
  

  explains the dual task effect as when tasks are done that occupy the same part of STM, performance is impaired, indicating there are separate stores within STM
• the working memory model evaluation limitations

  there is lack of clarity over the nature of the central executive and criticised for being too simplistic meaning the CE is an unsatisfactory component and this challenges the integrity if the WMM

  
  

  the case study can be criticised this is because the trauma that causes the brain damage may actually be the cause of their cognitive changes, the brain damage and the trauma are also unable to be separated so the cause of these changes cannot be determined, limiting its validity