working memory model

The working memory model and its 4 components

Baddeley and Hitch: developed this model as a new approach to understanding how short-term memory works.

initially consisted of 3 components: central executive, visuospatial sketchpad and the phonological loop. The episodib buffer was added in 2000

central executive

oversees and coordinates the components of STM. It acts as a filter to determine which info recieved by the sense organs is/isnt attended to.

directs info to the slave systems (visual/auditory). it is limited in capacity and can only effectivly cope with one strand of info at one time.

research: D'Espocito et al

• found using fMRI scans that the pre frontal cortex was activated when verbal and spatial tasks were performed simulataneously but not seperatley.

• this suggests that the brain are has another controlling section- the central executive

visuo-spatial sketchpad (inner eye)

handles non-phonological info and is a temporary store for visual and spatial items and the relationship between them

• visual cache: stores visual materials about form and colour

• innerscribe: handles spatial relationships

research: Gathercole and baddeley

• ppts had difficulty simultaneously tracking a moving point of light and describing the angles on a hollow letter F, because both tasks involved using the VSS.

• other ppts had little difficulty in tracking one light and performing a simultaneous verbal task, as both tasks involved using the VSS & PL

phonological loop

deals with auditory information, has a limited suration of around 2 seconds. as it is mainly an accoustic store, confusions occur with similar sounding words.

in 1986 the PL was divided into 2 parts:

• primary accoustic store (inner ear): stores words recently heard

• articulatory process (inner voice): keeps info in the PL through sub vocal repetition of the information and linked to speach production

research: Baddeley et al

• demonstrated the word length effect by asking ppts to remember long or short words in lists. they could hold fewer long words in the PL because each word occupied so much more memory space.

• this supports the idea that the duration of the phonological loop is limited to around 2 secs.

episodic buffer

added in 2000 by Baddeley, used to explain how info can be retreived from the LTM and brought back to the STM to focus on as the CE cannot do this

research: alkalifa 2009

• neuroscience evidence has found a different area of the brain (most posterior areas) when asking ppts to bring info from LTM back to STM, suggests the existance of an EB