A Capacity Theory of Comprehension: Individual Differences in Working Memory

He conditioned a dog to make it drool at the ring of a bell. Normally

This essay addresses the working memory model which was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974 in Smith & Kosslyn, 2007) as a response to Atkinson and Shiffrins (1968 in Smith, 2007) multi-store model. According to Baddely and Hitch the multi-store model failed to explain most of the complexities of the human memory and viewed it as being too simplistic. They argued that the short term memory store must have more components rather it being a single inflexible store as suggested previously by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). The working memory model is therefore an enhancement of the multi store model. According to Baddeley and Hitch working memory is a limited- capacity system that stores and processes information.

Once we need to use our memory to access information we use the retrieval stage. This stage allows for our brains to access, reactive and retrieve the information we were looking for. Peoples’ working memory has many functions including, auditory rehearsal that simply means we repeat something

The working memory model theory was introduced by Baddeley and Hitch as an alternative option to the multistore model version of the short term memory. It is much more in depth and detailed than the multistore model version, therefore it is a better option. The working memory model has four components: the central executive which acts as a leader for the other three stores by allocating attention and monitoring the activities of the other components. The phonological loop has two sub-components, the phonological store which stores speech for a very limited duration of time and the articulatory control system which rehearses the speech stored in the phonological store. The visuo-spatial sketchpad which deals with visual and spatial information and retrieves this kind of information from the long term

As for the evidence of the working memory system, two British researches, Alan Baddley and Graham Hitch, have proposed a model in how to explain the working memory system. They have suggested that the system contains many different parts, and that the main working part of the system is the central executive. This central part is able to delegate tasks for the low-level “assistants” to handle, since these assistants are not able to actually analyze a situation on their own. The articulatory rehearsal loop is one of the assistances that allows a person to remember, and is the most beneficial in many ways. This assistant allows you to recall information that is previously stated by repetitively stating the information in our head, which is known as subvolcalization, or silent speech. Furthermore, Baddley and Hitch’s model suggest that we are able to see the existence of this working memory through “sound-alike” errors, because our bodies rely on this rehearsal loop or memory to recall information. In a study, there was a control group which was given a normal digit-span test. In the other group, people were asked to perform concurrent articulation when they took the test. Although this concurrent articulation is not difficult, it does affect the use of the articulatory loop and decreases the memory. With that being said, manipulation of a

Do you know what the Working memory model is? Per the website explorable.com, the working memory model was proposed by Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch in 1974. They had studied the 1968 Atkinson-Shiffrin model in 1968 and believed that the model’s short term memory store lacked detail. The 4 main components of the working memory model are; Central executive, Articulatory-Phonological loop, Visuospatial sketchpad, and Episodic buffer.

After reading chapter 9, Working Memory and Cognitive Control, I know understand that there are three main distinctions among different types of memory: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Our sensory memory holds information automatically and rapidly decays. Our short-term memory is where information can be maintained if it is rehearsed or consistently attended to whereas our long-term memory retains memory for long periods and possibly permanently. Relating this back to dance again, my long-term and short-term memory comes in handy for me when remembering choreography from past dances as well as dances that I am working on now. I believe that this is one of my strengths as a dancer.

74. Raymond remembers, “When I was a sophomore, I took the hardest physics test of my life, and I was happy with my C.” This memory represents a(n)

In the last half century several theories have emerged with regard to the best model for human memory. In each of these models there was a specific way to help people recall words and

The ability to obtain a vocabulary and then increase that vocabulary is linked to memory. Short term memory allows the brain to temporarily store information. To move information (such as vocabulary terms or sound recognition) from short term to long term memory, the terms must be practiced or rehearsed. There is an ongoing debate among researchers as to the cause and effects regarding vocabulary and memory. Some studies indicate that greater abilities in retention of short term memory (as shown by non-word duplication aptitudes) predicted higher vocabulary awareness (Leclerq, & Majerus, 2010). Other studies indicate that increasing the vocabulary of an individual actually increases the ability of that individual to retain other types of information in his/her short term memory (Leclerq, & Majerus, 2010). Further study of the effect of short term memory on language development may lead to a greater understanding of the way that our mind learns and retrieves language. The zone of proximal development around language development is high; language requires years of lessons concerning the proper use of vocabulary and increasing the data base of

Prior to the early 1970s the prominent idea of how memories were formed and retrieved revolved around the idea of processing memory into specific stores (Francis & Neath, 2014). These memory stores were identified as sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. In contrast to this idea, two researchers named Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart proposed an idea linking the type of encoding to retrieval (Goldstein, 2015). This idea is known as the levels of processing theory. According to this theory, memory depends on the depth of processing that a given item is received by an individual (Goldstein, 2015). Craik and Lockhart stressed four points in supporting their theory. First, they argued that memory was the result of a series of analyses, each level of the series forming a deeper level of processing than the preceding level (Francis & Neath, 2014). The shallow levels of processing were believed to hold less importance and are defined as giving little attention to meaning of an item. Examples of which include focusing on how a word sounds or memorizing a phone number by repeating it over and over again (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The deeper levels processing involve paying close attention to the meaning of an item and relating that meaning to something else, an example of which would be focusing on the meaning of a word rather than just how the word sounds (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The second point Craik and Lockhart

Additionally, “working memory involves the temporary storage and manipulation of information that is assumed to be necessary for a wide range of complex cognitive activities” (Baddeley, 2003). It should log attention grabbers. For example: like the number of the jersey for a person who just won the marathon or a difficult word hollered out in the classroom by the teacher. However, this data will rapidly dissipate, unless we consciously attempt to maintain it. As you can see, the visual stimulus would be the number on the jersey of the marathon winner and the verbal stimulus would be the difficult word spoken by the teacher. Nonetheless, in order to keep this data and to transfer it to long term memory, through cognitive processes, this new data needs to append to information already in the long--term memory. This can be done through further cognitive processing like personal significance, social cues and other components of the short-term

The working memory model was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974 as an alternative to Atkinson & Shiffrin’s multi-store model of memory. They argued that the short-term memory was not a passive, temporary store used to transfer information to the long-term memory. Instead, they suggested that it should instead be regarded as an active store which holds information as it is being worked on. It is described by Cohen (1990) as the ‘focus of consciousness’, holding the information that is being thought about currently. The model has four components: the central executive, the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer.

Strategies and devices that help us remember information that requires effortful processing are: encoding its meaning, visualizing, and mentally organizing the

Information processing models (IPM), first developed in the 1950s, seek to explain how learners’ observations and novel experiences are transformed via processes related to memory, cognition, and thinking to allow for new knowledge acquisition (Schraw & McCrudden, 2013). In this model, the brain functions in a similar manner as a computer—that is receiving inputs, processing the input, and delivering an output (In an article describing IPM, Schraw and McCrudden (2013) detail how the components of IPM work to form new knowledge. By this model, learning begins at the sensory memory level, the temporary register of inputs we sense. Up to 5-7 pieces of discreet data can be acknowledged by the brain at any given time. These data are processed in a very short amount of time, and if deemed stimulating or interesting, the data will be transferred to the working memory, otherwise it will be forgotten or discarded. In working memory, also called short-term memory, data are chunked into meaningful units or otherwise processed. Information in working memory can be lost due to interference, decay, or retrieval failure. Information that does remain in working memory is rehearsed or deeply processed before being sent to long term memory. Long term memory stores both inactivated memories, and activation memories that it sends back to the working memory for further processing and rehearsal (Schraw & McCrudden, 2013).