WMM

• Central Executive​

  Main Purpose​ -

  • Monitering and co-ordinating operation of slave systems (visuo-spatial sketchpad and phonological loop)​
  • Decides what working memory pays attention to (directs attention)​
  • Sends info to relevant slave system​

  Encoding​ - Any modality​

  Capacity​ - Limited

  Duration​ - Limited​
• Phonological Loop​

  Main Purpose​ -

  • Deals with spoken + written information (acoustic). ​
  • Split into 2:​
  • Phonological store – inner ear. Holds auditory info for 1-2s​
  • Articulary control - inner voice. Circulates into to rehearse it e.g. phone numbers​

  Encoding​ - Acoustically​

  Capacity​ - Limited

  Duration​ - Limited​
• Visualspatial sketchpad​

  Main Purpose​ -

  • Visual and spatial information​
  • Spatial awareness​
  • Inner eye​

  Encoding​ - Visually​

  Capacity​ - Limited​

  Duration​ - Limited
• Episodic Buffer (2000)​


  Main Purpose​ -

  • Integrates and manipulates material in working memory​
  • Integrates info from Phonological Loop and Visuospatial Sketchpad​

  Encoding​ - Any modality​

  Capacity​ - Limited

  Duration​ - Limited
• WMM :) Supporting evidence from Baddeley

  gave ppants a simple tracking task that they had to do alongside first a letter imagery task, and later a verbal task. PPants found it difficult to carry out the tracking task alongside the letter imagery task accurately, but were able to do the tracking task with the verbal task perfectly. T/f supports idea of 2 separate aspects in STM as tracking+imagery were competing for limited capacity of visuo-spatial sketchpad, whereas tracking+verbal used different systems of VSS and PL​
• WMM :) Practical Applications

  practical applications in world of work as it recommends that you set tasks that only use 1 slave system at a time to avoid working memory overload, therefore increase productivity of a workforce​
• WMM :( Opposing evidence from Lieberman


  suggested that visuo-spatial sketchpad assumes all spatial info was first visual, but blind people have excellent spatial awareness despite never having had visual information. T/f WMM can't explain everyone's STM, reducing its validity​
• WMM :( Reductionist


  WMM says memory contains distinctly different parts, which are each responsible for a different process, making it easier to study memory experimentally but underplays interconnections between diff memory systems. T/f theory is too simplistic, reducing validity of WMM​
• Compare MSM and WMM

  MSM explains LTM and STM, WMM only explains STM

  MSM is structural – focuses on different memory stores​, whereas WMM is functional – focusses on processes involved in STM​

  Both are reductionist