Working memory model

• WMM


  Working Memory Model
• Central executive


  • Controls the WMM
  • All information passes to the Central Executive (CE) which then decides which component should process it
  • The components can only communicate with each other via the CE: they cannot 'talk' to each other
  • The CE is modality free: this means it can process information from any of the 5 senses (auditory, visual etc.)
  • May be involved in highly complex tasks such as playing chess
• Phonological loop


  • Holds information in the form of speech/sound
  • There are two parts: the phonological store/inner ear which deals with speech perception and the articulatory control process/ inner voice which processes speech production and rehearses verbal information
  • The easiest of the slave systems to test
• Visuo-spatial sketchpad/scratchpad


  • Concerned with visual and spatial information which it organises into separate components
  • There are two parts: the inner scribe which deals with spatial information and the visual cache which stores information about form, shape and colour
• Episodic buffer


  • A temporary storage device used to integrate information from the VSS and PL
  • Ensures that all the information from the slave systems links together and forms a cohesive whole which makes sense