Working memory

• Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
• Working Memory?(WM) is a response to the over-simplification of short-term memory in the multi-store model
• It is a model of short-term memory
  

What are the components of working memory?

Central executive

• This controls the WM and is like the ‘boss’ of the system
• All information passes to the Central Executive (CE) which then decides which component should process it
• The components can only communicate with each other via the CE: They cannot ‘talk’ to each other
• The CE is modality free: This means it can process information from any of the 5 senses (auditory, visual etc.)

Evaluation of central executive

• Our knowledge of the central executive is limited, not much is known about CE and therefore the ability to evaluate is also limited
• Point to make in an evaluation of the CE are:
  • This is the most important component of WM but it is the one we know least about
  • We do know from research?(Baddeley)?that it is involved in highly complex tasks such as playing chess or completing verbal reasoning tests
  • Our CE seems to be involved in?any task that requires planning, organising or monitoring

Phonological loop

• This is a temporary storage device: The duration is seconds
• It holds information in the form of speech/sound
• There are two parts to the phonological loop
• Phonological store/inner ear which deals with speech perception
• The phonological store can hold spoken words for around 2 seconds
• Articulatory control process/ inner voice which processes speech production and?rehearses verbal information

Evaluation of phonological loop

• There is more known about this component than any of the others
• It is the one that most resembles STM in MSM
• At what point does the CE take over if a phonological task is complex: How complex does it need to be for CE to step in

Visuo-spatial sketchpad/scratchpad

• This a temporary storage device for visual and?spatial information
• Also known as the inner eye
• There are two parts to this
• The inner scribe deals with spatial information
• The visual cache stores information about how things look in terms of form, shape and?colour

Evaluation of visuo-spatial scratchpad

• It is a positive that visual and?spatial are considered separately
• These are of major importance in everyday life
• But we know little as to how spatial and visual connect together
• At what point does the CE take over if a visual/spatial task is complex: How complex does it need to be for CE to step in

Episodic buffer

• This is a temporary storage device used to integrate information from the visuo-spatial scratchpad and?phonological loop
• It ensures that all the information from the other components links together and?forms a cohesive whole which makes sense
• Added later to the model than the other components

Evaluation of the episodic buffer

• Added later to the model and so could question what else Baddeley and Hitch missed

What is the evidence for the working memory?

Dual-task studies

• People can do tasks at once if they involve separate components
• For example: Most people can cook a meal and chat with a friend at the same time
• Cooking is largely visual (watching the food and the timers) whilst talking is phonological
• However, we struggle with two tasks if they involve the same store
• It is hard to type up a piece of work and?watch something on television at the same time
• They are both visual tasks
• Baddeley and Hitch?tested this by asking participants to repeat a list of numbers (digit span recall) at the same time as answering verbal reasoning questions
• As the digit span became longer, the time taken to answer the questions became greater
• Baddeley?also found participants found it difficult to learn a list of words accurately at the same time as repeating ‘red lorry, yellow lorry
• The phonological loop is overloaded here and?the CE seems unable to assist

Evaluation of working memory

• It extends on the work of the MSM and explains the complexity of STM with the tasks it can perform
• Research on dual tasks supports the idea of separate components and how they can be overloaded
• This research links to real life as it can explain how we can (or cannot) do certain everyday tasks together
• However, it ignores three of the five senses: Smell, taste and?touch
• Less is known about the central executive: Considering its importance then this is a problem
• It is circular in nature and?so breaks?Popper’s?Law of falsifiability