Similarity and Differences Between Cowan’s and Baddeley’s Working Memory Models
This article is written by Utku Gencer Gediz who had been a second-year psychology student in SWPS (Warsaw, Poland). Instructor: Klara Rydzewska
Introduction
Working memory can be described as a part of short memory, which seems to be between 15 and 30 seconds, and storage about seven items, besides that, it can be described as a part of long-term memory which is providing the lasting memory of information and the abilities. It keeps the data more than short-term memory and less than long-term memory. The classical description of working memory viewed that short-term memory seems like working memory, but there are differences between this two type of memory. First, working memory is more complicated than short-term memory because the working memory involves an active manipulation of information during the involving of short-term memory as the passive storage of information.
Working memory keeps and organises the information for a short time while we are accomplishing the cognitive tasks. Such as, when you go to the supermarket, you will be able to remember where you parked your car three hours ago. Also, the working memory functions as a coordinator. It acts as a controller who decides about which things are worth to paying attention or ignore.
When your friend asks you if you want to go to skiing, and you said that you do not know how to ski, therefore, you had rather be climbing. The working memory of your friend works here. The working memory helps us to combine two sentences. It can manage more than one processor two different short-term tasks at the same time. If you only said that you had rather climbing without any reason, your friend would not understand why you do not want to go. The working memory can correlate an auditory code with a visual code or can combine an auditory code with an emotional code. For example, when you hear a song about love, you remember your old loves, or when you hear a sweet ‘meow’, you will remember the cat that you have seen around your house before.
The working memory ensures that the information is stored efficiently, easily reached, evaluated. We consistently use the working memory during the execution of our daily works. Such as, I am using now; if I am not able to use my working memory, I would not remember my notes which are taken by me.
The Baddeley’s Model of Working Memory
Alan Baddeley initially suggested that working memory comprises four elements: the central executive, the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer.
The role of the Central executive, which is the first element of working memory, is managing attentional activities and governs responses. The central executive decides which information is attended to and which parts of the working memory to send that information to be dealt with. For example, two activities sometimes come into conflict, such as driving a car and talking. Rather than hitting a cyclist who is wobbling all over the road, it is preferable to stop talking and concentrate on driving. The central executive directs attention and gives priority to particular activities (McLeod, 2008). Furthermore, the central executive decides which information stimuli or ignore.
The second element, the phonological loop is linked with spoken and written materials. We use the phonological loop almost every tasks that we do daily. Such as, using new words and solving speaking problems that occur when we are trying to say difficult words. There are two critical components of the phonological loop. Phonological storage, which is one of the critical components of the phonological loop, helps us hold information in memory. The other one of the critical components of the phonological loop is a subvocal rehearsal. The role of subvocal rehearsal is putting the information in somewhere, where is first place, in memory. When subvocal rehearsal is blocked, we would be not able to store the new information and this inhibition is named articulatory suppression.
The third element is the visuospatial sketchpad. The visuospatial sketchpad (inner eye) deals with visual and spatial information. Visual information refers to what things look like. It is likely that the visuospatial sketchpad plays an important role in helping us keep track of where we are in relation to other objects as we move through our environment (Baddeley, 1997).
The fourth and the last element of working memory is called “the episodic buffer”. The episodic buffer is a limited-capacity system that is capable of binding information from the visuospatial sketchpad and the phonological loop as well as from long-term memory into a unitary episodic representation (Sternberg, 2012). It acts as ‘backup’ store. Thus, the episodic buffer provides communication with the long-term memory and the components of working memory.
The Cowan’s Model of Working Memory
In Cowan’s model, two components are assumed, the activated memory and attention processes in which neural representations are stored. Cowan’s model has two important features. The first of these features is the different forms of coverage between activated memory and attentional processes. The second feature is that the activated memory component is based on a short-term memory system.
Conclusion
Both of the models investigate the working memory. We can not claim that these two models of working memory, which are based on the same basis, are very different from each other, but there are differences in their perspectives of working memory. For instance, Baddeley’s model tries to name the components of the working memory, but these regions, which are named, are only the parts examined. In Cowan’s model, the components of the working memory are not examined for naming purposes and are categorised according to their assignments.
References
Sternberg, R.J. (2012) Cognitive Psychology (pp. 161–163)
Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McLeod, S. A. (2012). Working memory. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/working%20memory.html
