Lesson 06 - working memory model

what is the WMM?

a representation of short-term memory. It suggests that STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using subunits co-ordinated by a central decision-making system

what is the central executive

the component of the WMM that co-ordinates the activities of the three subsystems in memory. it also allocates processing resources to those activities. it monitors incoming data and decides when a short-term memory task is completed

what is the phonological loop

the component of the WMM that processes information in terms of sound. this includes both written and spoken material. it is divided into the phonological store, which acts as an ‘inner ear’, i.e., storing sound, and the articulatory process, which acts as an ‘inner voice’, i.e., words/sounds are verbally repeated

what is the visuo-spatial sketchpad

the component of the WMM that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our ‘inner eye’. it is subdivided into our visual cache which deals with the storage of visual information, and the inner scribe which deals with spatial relations, such as the arrangements of objects in our visual field

what is the episodic buffer

the component of the WMM that brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory episode rather than separate strands. it also provides a bridge between working memory and long-term memory

main purpose of the CE

• to monitor data received from LTM and subsystems

• to allocate resources e.g. decide which subsystem will perform which task

• supervise other components

• reasoning and decision-making

main purpose of the PL

• to store the words you hear (phonological store)

• to rehearse words you are currently processing (articulatory process), keeping them in working memory until they are needed

main purpose of the VSS

• to store visual data (images) in the visual cache

• to manipulate/arrange images in the visual field (inner eye)

main purpose of the EB

• to integrate and temporarily store information processed by the other subsystems

• to maintain a sense of time-sequencing (order or events)

• to link to LTM and wider cognitive processes (e.g. perception)

capacity of the CE

limited

capacity of the PL

as much as you can verbalise in 2 seconds

capacity of the VSS

limited - ¾ objects

capacity of the EB

limited - 4 chunks

coding of the CE

modality free (not limited to sight or sound or any other senses)

coding of the PL

acoustic

coding of the VSS

visual

coding of the EB

modality free (not limited to sight or sound or any other senses)