working memory model

working model memory

Baddeley and hitch 1974/ Baddeley 2000

• Research showed the popular multistore model of memory had multiple issues with the STM

• Baddeley and Hitch argued STM was too simple

  • MSMoM presented STM as a unitary store

working memory

• The working memory (WM) is not a unitary store

• Part of memory where information is temporarily held and 'worked on' as people do stuff

• Different systems for different situations

• Allows people to consciously use info from:

  • Sensory memory - processing information to create meaning

  • Long term memory - by retrieving information from LTM t be used and manipulated in LTM

working memory interprets

• Emotions and feelings interpretations

• Language comprehensions

• Daydreaming

• Creativity/problem solving

• Analysing/ reasoning/ planning/ decision making

• Enables reading -> holding the information from start of the sentence wile end words are being

the central executive

• Drives whole system

• Allocates data to 2 sub sections

• Deals with cognitive tasks

  • Mental arithmatic and problem solving

• Controls attention

• Integrates information from the phonological loop, and visuospatial sketchpad and info from LTM

  • Coordinates the information between working memory and long term memory

• All functions involve manipulation of information temporarily held in the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

  • Is essentially the working part of WM

main functions of the central executive

• Inhibition - an aspect of attention - screens out irrelevant information

• Switching - changing attention from one item to another

• Updating - modifying items brought in from LTM before recommitting to memory via episodic buffer

phonological loop

• Active whenever a person reads, listens, speaks or repeats words to themselves in order to remember them

• Temporarily stores a limited amount of verbal speech like info

• Verbal info is stored in sound based "phonological" form

• Assumed that people hold onto verbal info by using subvocal maintenance rehearsal

  • Continually repeating like a loop

• Without rehearsal can only hold 2 seconds worth of info in phonological memory system

parts of the phonological loop

phonological store

articulatory control process

phonological store

• Acts as inner ear and holds info on speech based form for 1-2 seconds

• Spoken words enter the store directly

• Written words must first be converted into articulatory (spoken) code

articulatory control process

• Acts like an inner voice rehearsing info from the phonological store

• Circulates info around like tape loop

visuospatial sketchpad

• Aka visual working memory

• Inner eye

• Mental workspace for storing and manipulating visual and spatial information

• Plays important role in helping a person keep track of where they are in relation to other objects

• Stores a limited amount of information (limited capacities):

  • Visual information - anything a person can see or visualise

    • Includes features of pictures

  • Spatial information - refers to the visual location of objects in space

episodic buffer

• Original model updated by Baddeley -> failed to explain results of various experiments -> added EB

• Limited capacity system

  • Provides temp storage of info held in multimodal code (auditory/visual)

  • Capable of binding info from subsidiary systems - vss and ppl and from LTM - into unitary episodic representation

• Acts as back up store

• Communicates with both LTM and components of WM

• Selects and encodes info through LTM