Working memory model

• What is the WWM?

  • how the STM is organised and functions
• What are the 4 STM stores ?

  1. Central executive
  2. phonological loop
  3. episodic buffer
  4. visio- spatial sketch pad
• What is the central executive ?

  • attentional process- monitors incoming data
  • allocated to slave systems
  • witches attention between tasks, sets goals + checks for errors
• What is the capacity, coding of central executive ?


  Capacity - limited but can move stuff to make space

  coding- modality free
• What are the slave systems ?

  • phonological loop
  • episodic buffer
  • visio- spatial sketch pad
• What is the phonological loop ?

  • deals with auditory information
  • preserves the order info arrives in
  • subdivided into 2
• What is the phonological loop divided into ?

  1. Phonological store
  2. auditory process
• what is the role of phonological store ?

  • ‘inner ear’
  • recieves info from sound
  • used for speech perception
  • likited capacity
  • temporary store
  • coded acoustically
• What is the role of auditory process ?

  • ‘inner voice’
  • order kept here by repeating until said
  • speech production
  • limited capacity
  • temporary store
  • 2 second capacity of what you say
  • coded accoustically
• What is the episodic buffer?

  • added in 2000 by baddely
  • temporary store integrates visual spatial + verbal info processed by other stores
  • maintains a time sequence
  • storage component
  • links Working memory to LTM
• What is the coding and capaxity of episodic buffer ?

  capacity - 4 chunks

  modality free coding
• What is Visio- spatial sketch pad ?

  • stores visual or spatial info when required
  • ‘inner eye’
  • logie subdivided it into 2 categories
• What is video-spatial subdivided into ?

  1. Visual cache
  2. inner scribe
• What is Vishal cache ?

  • stores visual data
  • codes visually
• What is inner scribe ?

  • records the arrangement of objects in visual field
  • coded visually
• What Is the capacity of video- spatial sketxhpad ?

  3-4 objects + temporary storage
• Evaluation of WMM

  1. Shallice and Warrington
  2. baddely et al
  3. centeal executive is reductionist
• What was shallice and Warrington ?

  patient KF

  • poor ability of STM verbal info but could process visual info
  • phonological loop damages but not others

  - case study
• What was baddeley study ?


  Pp had more didficulty doing 2 visual tasks than one visual one verbal

  • shows different slave systems + capacitys
• central executive is reductionist ?

  • baddely said it’s the most important part but it’s the least understood
  • may consist of seperate components