Working (working) memory: components and functions

This mental function related to intelligence allows us to solve problems in real time.

Working memory, also known as "working memory", is a cognitive system that retains short-term information and manipulates it.is a cognitive system that retains short-term information and manipulates it, thus enabling the execution of complex psychological processes and behaviors such as decision-making or mathematical computation.

The original theory describing working memory was the work of psychologists Baddeley and Hitch. In this article we will analyze the components of working memory according to this model and the functions that correspond to each of them.

Working memory and short-term memory

During the 1950s and 1960s, different theories about memory emerged within the framework of the cognitivist paradigm. Sensory memory, which included iconic or visual memory and echoic or auditory memory, was first discussed, and later the distinction between short-term and long-term memory became predominant. distinction between short-term memory and long-term memory..

The concept of short-term memory has been progressively replaced by that of working memory. This change is due to the fact that, starting with the contributions of Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch in the 1970s, it is in the 1970s, it is considered that this type of memory is not only a passive store of information but also operates on it.

According to Baddeley and Hitch, working memory is composed of a set of components that interact with each other. These systems work with "verbal, visual or other types of informationThese systems work with "items" of verbal, visual or other types of information**; an item is understood as any unit of information with meaning for the person.

The multicomponent model of Baddeley and Hitch

The classical model of working memory was composed of three components: the central executive, which manages the use of cognitive and attentional resources, and two subordinate systems that process unimodal information, the phonological loop and the articulatory loop.

Later, Baddeley added a fourth component, the episodic buffer.

1. Central executive

Baddeley and Hitch described the existence of an attentional control system that they called the "central executive". The main function of this component is to allocate attentional resources to the tasks we are performing at any given time, so that we can The main function of this component is to allocate attentional resources to the tasks we are performing at a given moment, so that the rest of the mnemonic systems are directed by the central executive.

This system also stores information but its capacity is limited; when the demand exceeds the resources of the central executive, it resorting to the phonological loop and the visuospatial agendawhich Baddeley and Hitch called "slave subsystems".

2. Phonological loop or articulatory loop

The phonological loop is a system that retains verbal information in acoustic format in a temporal manner.. According to the model, the articulatory loop can passively hold a maximum of 3 items for 2 seconds; if we perform a "subvocal review" operation by repeating the information through inner speech, the capacity increases to 7 items.

If we focus on the passive aspect of the phonological loop, this component is close to the concept of echoic memory. close to the concept of echoic memorydescribed by George Sperling and Ulric Neisser as a brief mental representation of acoustic information.

3. Visuospatial agenda

Baddeley and Hitch described a second slave subsystem that works with images: the visuospatial agenda. Its characteristics are similar to those of the phonological loop, differing basically in that it handles visual rather than sound information.

The visuospatial schedule has not been investigated as much as the articulatory loop and its characteristics have not been fully confirmed. Research suggests that the brain may separately process visual information (perception of detail, color, etc.) (perception of detail, color, etc.) and spatial information, including location and movement of stimuli.

4. Episodic buffer

The episodic buffer is the fourth and last component of the classical working memory model, which was added by Baddeley in 1991 to his original formulation. From a theoretical point of view, it is associated with the executive functions of the frontal lobe of the brain.

According to Baddeley it is a temporal store with restricted capacity, such as the articulatory loop and the visuospatial agenda. However, works with multimodal information rather than with words or images alone. Its other fundamental characteristic is that it allows the exchange of information between long-term and working memory.

Functions of the TM: control operations

As we have said, the main difference between the concept of short-term memory and that of working memory is that the former was understood as a passive store, whereas working memory is also attributed with active functions related to the management of available information..

Let us see what these control operations consist of.

Repetition

The repetition of information stored in the working memory allows it to be retained for a longer period of time, which, in turn, allows time for other information to be produced, This, in turn, allows time for other control operations to take place.. When this takes place, it increases the probability that short-term memory is transferred to long-term memory.

2. Recoding, grouping or "chunking".

Recoding consists of the elaboration of complex segments of information ("chunks") from simpler items. In addition to working memory, this operation involves long-term memorysince the rules and strategies guiding recoding are stored in long-term memory.

3. Execution of complex cognitive tasks

Working memory deals with tasks such as listening and reading comprehension, problem solving, e.g. mathematical, and decision making.. These processes are related to higher cognitive functions and depend on the interaction between the stimulation received and the information stored in long-term memory.

Is it related to intelligence?

Working memory is considered to be closely related to intelligence, in the sense that a greater capacity in this type of memory is reflected in better IQ scores. However, little is known about how the two constructs fit together.