Learn About Beddeley's Working Memory Model
Some cognitive psychologists see short-term memory as a very dynamic place, so it is sometimes called working memory. A. D. Baddeley is one such cognitive psychologist. Baddeley's working memory model divides it into three parts: the visuo-spatial sketch pad, the phonological loop, and the central executive. The visuo-spatial sketch pad is what people refer to as the "mind's eye." It controls visual imagery, which is discussed in detail in the section on Mental Imagery. In Baddeley's model, the central executive controls awareness of the information in working memory. For example, picture a pink elephant. Your visuo-spatial sketch pad created the image of the elephant, but the central executive brought it into your Working Memory so that you could be aware of the elephant and say, "Hey, I can see a pink elephant in my mind; it's big and has floppy ears." Although the central executive directs our awareness toward working memory's content, we seem to have little or no control over it, says Baddeley; we automatically experience whatever is presented to us.