Information Processing Theory
A Closer Look
Epistemic Heritage To The Model
 Memory research dates back to 1885 with
Hermann Ebbinhaus who looked at memory in
terms of nonsense symbols.
 In the 1950s cognitive scientists began creating
models that acknowledge the stages of acquisition
storage and retrieval.
 The increasing influence of computers were clearly
reflected in these models that came to be known
as Information Processing Models
 One of the most influential models was the modal
model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968.
Modal Model
Long Term
Memory
retrieval
Sensory memory
Declarative
Knowledge
Short term
Memory
Procedural
Knowledge
encoding
Rehearsal
Conditional
Knowledge
Criticisms of the Modal Model
 Proposes three separate structures in memory
,short term, long term and sensory.
 Assumes that information only flows one way in a
linear fashion. It is believed that information in
long term memory influences short term memory
and information is processed concurrently in short
term and long term memory
 Does not correspond to any one area of the brain.
Description of Sensory Memory
 Sensory memory-”is a system that briefly holds stimuli
in sensory registers so that perceptual analyses can
occur before the information is lost”.
Two Types of Sensory Registers
 Visual registers are very limited.
 visual memory can only process 7 to 9 pieces of
information at any given time.
 Information is only available briefly 0.5 seconds
 Auditory Registers are limited.
 Auditory registers can only process 5 to 7 pieces of
information.
 Auditory information can only be stored for up to 4
seconds before the information becomes unavailable.
Steps in sensory memory process
 Perception enables us to identify incoming perceptual
stimuli and direct attention to them.
 Pattern recognition enables us to associate perceptual
information with a recognizable pattern, then it is
forwarded to short term memory.
Description of Short Term Memory
 Short term memory is the place where information is
stored for meaning.
 It has limited capacity and duration.
 The current name for short term memory is working
memory.
 It can only hold 7 chunks plus or minus two (Miller).
 The duration is not limited by time so much but by
interference and capacity overload.– but generally
restricted to 30 seconds.
Postulation about short term and sensory
memory
 Memory systems are functionally separate
 Attention is limited
 Process are controlled and automatic
 Automatic task are much easier to perform and require
much fewer cognitive resources (e.g. strategies)
 Meaning is constructed based on context and prior
knowledge
Working Memory
 Baddeley replaced the unitary
short term store with a
working memory system
 Central executive, which is
assumed to be an attentioncontrolling system.
 Visuospatial sketch pad
manipulates visual images
 Phonological loop stores and
rehearses speech-based
information and is necessary
for the acquisition of both
native and second-language
vocabulary.
Executive
Visuospatial
Sketchpad
Phonological
Loop
Long Term Memory
 It is referred to as a permanent storehouse for
information. Long term memory is capable of storing
unlimited amounts of information. Anything that you
want to remember for a long period of time must be
transferred for short term to long term memory.
Baddeley’s Original Model of Working
Memory
Visuospatial Sketchpad
Central
Executive
Phonological Loop
Baddeley’s Revised Model of Working
Memory 2001
Baddeley’s Article
Central Executive
Visuospatial Sketchpad
Visual Semantics
Episodic Buffer
Episodic LTM
Phonological loop
Language
The Phonological Loop
 Broken into two components a phonological store and
an articulatory rehearsal system. It is assumed to decay
over time unless refreshed by rehearsal, It is
dependent on the second component the articulatory
loop.
Phonological Store
 Similarity effect-the immediate recall of items that
sound similar (B ,V, G T, C,) is poorer than dissimilar
items (F ,K ,Y, W, M,R ,)
 Similarity of meaning has little effect in the standard
immediate recall paradigm
 The opposite is true for the learning of multitrial long
term learning of ten items, it solely depends on
semantic rather than acoustic
Articulatory Rehearsal
 It was proposed to give an account of the immediate
word length effect, whereby the is the immediate serial
recall is a direct function of the length of items being
retained (Baddeley, Thomson& Buchanan) An
example is a sequence such as sum, pay, wit, bar, hop is
much more likely to be recalled correctly than
helicopter, university, television, alligator, opportunity.
This reflects the slower rehearsal of longer words that
allows greater forgetting.
The Visuospatial Sketchpad
 Assumed to capable of temporarily maintaining and




manipulating visouspatial information
Forms an interface between visual and spatial information
accessed either by senses or long term memory
Takes up one slot in working memory.
Processed simultaneously, rather than sequentially.
Drives retreival– conjoint retention model.
The Central Executive
 In charge of focusing attention
 Also in charge of dividing attention
 Switching attention also happens here
 Forms an interface between long term memory and
subsystems
 Responsible for metacognitive monitoring.
Episodic Buffer
 This is assumed to be capable of combining
information from LTM with that from the slave
systems.
 Dedicated to linking information across domains to
form integrated units of visual, spatial, and verbal
information (e.g., the memory of a story or a movie
scene, a 2D graphic).
 Responsible for metacognitive strategy deployment.
Summary
 Baddeley replaced the unitary short-term store with a
working memory system consisting of three components:
an attention-like central executive, a phonological loop
holding speech-based information, and a visuo-spatial
sketchpad specialized for spatial and visual coding.
 This working memory system is of relevance to non-
memory activities such as comprehension and verbal
reasoning. The phonological loop and visuo-spatial
sketchpad have both been sub-divided into twocomponent systems, one component for storage and one
for processing. The central executive fulfils several
functions. Many of the characteristics of the central
executive remain unclear.