Describe and evaluate one alternative to the multistore model of memory
The working memory model was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) as a way to represent short-term memory in terms of further subdivisions. It suggests that working memory consists of three components. These are the central executive, the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial sketchpad. The central executive is the component of working memory which is modality free (i.e. not visual or auditory). It is the most important component in the model and is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the operation of the slave systems. It is flexible, in that it can process information from any modality and also has some storage capacity, although this is very limited. It seems to play a major role in attention, planning and in synthesising information, not only from the slave systems but also from LTM. The phonological loop stores a limited number of sounds for brief periods and can be thought of as an inner ear. It is now thought to be made up of two components (Gathercole and Baddeley 1993). One component is the phonological store, which allows acoustically coded items to be stored for a brief period. The other component is the articulatory control system, which allows subvocal repetition of the items stored in the phonological store. The visuo-spatial scratch pad stores visual and spatial information and can be thought of as an inner eye. Like the phonological loop, it has limited capacity, but the limits of the two systems are independent. In other words, it is possible, for example, to rehearse a set of digits in the phonological loop while simultaneously making decisions about the spatial layout of a set of letters in the visuo-spatial scratchpad.
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Summary The writer has written a concise essay about the 'working memory model'. The essay included some of the main studies which have been carried out in this field, but would receive a higher score if they included some more up to date research. The writer needs to make sure that the essay is well constructed with a clear introduction and conclusion.They must also use their own words throughout. Score 3*