Memory
Cognitive process used to encode, store, and retrieve information
Working Memory Model
Proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974); proposed that short-term memory is a more complex working memory that temporarily holds and manipulates information in specialized ways
- believes that short-term memory is not a unitary store but instead consists of components
Sensory Memory
Receives information through the sensory stores
- Sensory memory has a large capacity, but a very brief duration
- information held only lasts for fractions of a second
- attention is required from information to move from sensory memory to short-term memory
Short Term Memory
Where we hold information we are currently listening to
- Short-term memory components consist of central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer
Central Executive
Main component of the Working Memory Model
- controls our attention and the operations of the other components; aka slave systems
- determines what is tended to; can switch and divide attention between tasks
Phonological Loop
Component that temporarily stores sound-based information
Divided into two components: phonological store and articulatory rehearsal component
- phonological store: (inner ear) stores information we hear for 11-2 seconds
- articulatory rehearsal component: (inner voice) rehearses information from the phonological store to precent decay; keeping it in short-term memory
Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
(inner ear) component that temporarily stores visual and spatial information
Episodic Buffer
Added in a later version of the model; is a temporary store that integrates information from other components into chunks or episodes
Long-Term Memory
Place for storing large amounts of information for indefinite periods of time
- has unlimited duration and capacity
- elaborative rehearsal is the process of relating information to prior knowledge, making the information meaningful, thus making it easier to store for a longer period of time
Working Memory Model Explanation
- If two tasks use the same components of working memory, they cannot be successfully preformed together
- If two tasks make use of different components, it should be possible to preform them together and separately
Strengths
- provides better explanations of storage and processing than multi-store model; modality based tasks
- is supported by considerable experimental evidence
Weaknesses
- harder to test model in its entirety due to its complexity; unclear how components interact
- doesn't account for other factors involved in memory formation
Study Used
Baddeley and Hitch (1976): working memory