Working Memory Model

Working Memory Model

1. Designed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974), the WMM focuses on the multiple parts of the STM.

2. Central Executive (CE)

   • Processes sensory information, directs information to the slave systems and collects responses.
     • Not really a memory store, more of a controller.
   • Limited in capacity (Baddeley (1996)) and can only deal with one strand at a time.
   • One issue with the CE is that it is very vague.

3. Phonological Loop (PL)

   • Deals with auditory information and the order of information.
     • 2 components
       • Primary acoustic store (inner ear) which stores what has been recently heard.
       • Articulatory process (inner voice) which keeps information in the PL through repetition of information and is linked to speech production.
     • Has a limited capacity and is coded acoustically.
     • Trojani and Grossi (1995) studied SC, who had brain damage that affected his PL not his VSS, suggesting they are two separate systems.

4. Visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSS)

   • Handles non-phonological information and temporarily stores visual and spatial information.
     • 2 components
       • VIsual cache stores visual information about form and colour.
       • Inner Scribe which handles spatial relationships and transfers information to the CE.

5. Episodic Buffer

   • Stores information from the other slave systems and the CE