Memory- working memory model

Memory- working memory model

1. Central executive

   • Coordinates activity of other subsystems, as well as allocating resources
   • Very limited capacity

2. Visuo-spatial sketchpad

   • Visual and spatial information
   • Limited capacity
     • 3-4 objects
   • The visual cache
     • Stores visual data
   • The inner scribe
     • Records arrangement of objects

3. Phonological loop

   • Auditory information
     • Acoustic coding
   • Phonological store
     • Stores the words you hear
   • Articulatory process
     • Maintenance rehearsal of words in a 'loop' to keep them in the STM as long as necessary
       • 2 second capacity

4. Episodic buffer

   • Integrates all information and ensures time sequencing
   • Limited capacity
     • 4 chunks
   • Links WM to LTM

5. Evaluation

   • Clinical evidence
     • Patient had trouble with auditory information processing but fine for visual
       • Damage to phonological loop but not visuo-spatial sketchpad
         • Suggests they are separate stores
     • Difficult to generalise
       • Often deals with patients with unique cases, sometimes revolving around trauma
   • Dual task performance
     • Baddeley
       • More difficult to do two tasks in the same store (e.g. visuo-spatial tasks) compared to two different tasks (e.g. auditory and visual)
         • Suggests there must be separate subsystems to deal with auditory and visual information
   • Lack of clarity over central executive
     • Not a full explanation of STM
     • May have separate components
   • Word length effect
     • List of long words more difficult to remember
       • 2 second capacity in articulatory process
   • Brain scan studies
     • High levels of activity in the left pre-frontal corex during CE activity