Briefly outline the working memory model. (4 marks)

The working memory model, developed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974), is an explanation of how short-term memory is organised, taken from criticism of the multi-store model of memory. There are different components to the model - firstly, the central executive monitors incoming data and allocates information to its slave system. The phonological loop deals with auditory information, and is divided into the phonological store (which stores words you hear), and articulatory process (which allows maintenance rehearsal to take place). The visuo-spatial sketchpad deals with visual information, being divided into the visual cache (which stores visual data) and the inner scribe (which records the arrangement of objects in a visual field). Finally, the episodic buffer temporarily stores information whilst also integrating visual, spatial and verbal information.