Working Memory Model

Alan Baddley’s working memory model explains what goes on inside the short-term memory and the working memory. It consists of two temporary storages for short-term memory depending on the type of information. The visuospatial sketchpad stores the visual and spatial images for manipulation. The phonological loop maintains auditory memory by speech rehearsal. Visual/spatial images and auditory information are stored in separate locations in working memory. Another component in Baddley’s model is the central executive which monitors and manipulates the two working memory buffers the visuospatial sketchpad and the phonological loop. The central executive has multiple important jobs like adding or deleting items in the buffers above, selecting items to guide behavior, retrieving information from long-term memory and transferring information to long-term memory. It works like a train it goes back and forth between short and long-term memory. The central executive only manipulates information while the two buffers manage the information. The buffers are material specific the visuospatial sketchpad only stores object and location material while the phonological
For example, if a person is given a phone number and is asked to remember it the person will repeat the numbers over and over again in their head. Most people can remember 5-7 items +/- 2 but without rehearsal, a person could only retain the information for 2 seconds before it is forgotten. This is why internal rehearsal is extremely important because without it we could not remember anything. If the rehearsal is interrupted it can mess with the memory and cause the person to not remember anything. There is also the idea of word-length effect where longer words require longer rehearsal to remember. For instance, I would remember the word dog quicker than the word superstitious because it is a shorter and simpler