Theories

Working memory model

Temporary remembering involves several coordinated systems rather than one undifferentiated store.

Model The classification describes how this account is used here; it is not an evidence rating.

Central claim

Short-term maintenance and manipulation of information depend on a multicomponent system combining domain-specific verbal and visuospatial storage with domain-general executive control and episodic integration.

Proposed mechanism

The phonological loop maintains verbal material, the visuospatial sketchpad handles spatial or visual information, and executive control coordinates processing. The episodic buffer was added later to explain integration across sources.

Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (A. Baddeley, 2000)

What would it predict?

Two tasks relying on similar resources should interfere more than suitably matched tasks using different resources. Overall difficulty must be controlled before treating interference as evidence for separate components.

An original test formulation derived from the account, not a claim that this exact study was performed.

Evidence and status

Baddeley and Hitch (1974) developed the original multicomponent account contrasting verbal and visuospatial demands. Baddeley's 2000 article proposes an episodic buffer in response to limitations of that earlier version.

Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (A. Baddeley, 2000)

Major contributors

Alan Baddeley; Graham Hitch; later collaborators

A selective attribution, not a complete intellectual genealogy or a sole-founder claim.

Apply the explanation

Original teaching scenario

Repeating a verbal list while rehearsing another verbal list may be harder than maintaining the list while following a simple spatial path.

Constructed for learning. This scenario does not report an empirical result.

Common confusion: Passive short-term storage

Working memory emphasizes active manipulation and coordinated subsystems during ongoing tasks, whereas passive short-term span refers only to holding a small amount of material briefly.

Compare: Where does a dual-task cost come from?

Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (A. Baddeley, 2000)

Limits and alternatives

  • Component names do not fully explain how control works. Dual-task interference can reflect general difficulty; alternative accounts emphasize attention and activated long-term representations.

Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (A. Baddeley, 2000)

Textbook connection

Direct coveragePsychology 2e: 8.1 How Memory Functions

This section directly discusses the account presented here. The profile is an original synthesis, not a reproduction of the textbook.

Related explanations

Compare: Where does a dual-task cost come from? · Inspect research methods

Sources and inspection notes

Checked October 21, 2026. An inspection date is not a publication date. Original experiments described by a textbook are not individually re-audited unless a separate primary source is listed.

  1. Baddeley, A. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01538-2Consulted sourcePrimary article metadata and abstract excerpt retrieved through the indexed PubMed record

    Supports the later addition of the episodic buffer. Direct PubMed rendering returned a restricted page and the university PDF failed; full paper was not inspected.

  2. Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/8-1-how-memory-functionsTextbook section inspected, October 21, 2026

    Supports the introductory account and historical framing. Does not independently verify every original experiment cited by the textbook.