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The idea of one's memory "filling up" is a humorous misconception of how memory in general is thought to work; it actually has no capacity limit. However, the idea of a "full brain" makes more sense with reference to working memory, which is the limited amount of information a person can hold temporarily in an especially accessible form for use in the completion of almost any challenging cognitive task. This groundbreaking book explains the evidence supporting Cowan's theoretical proposal about working memory capacity, and compares it to competing perspectives. Cognitive psychologists profoundly disagree on how working memory is limited: whether by the number of units that can be retained (and, if so, what kind of units and how many), the types of interfering material, the time that has elapsed, some combination of these mechanisms, or none of them. The book assesses these hypotheses and examines explanations of why capacity limits occur, including vivid biological, cognitive, and evolutionary accounts. The book concludes with a discussion of the practical importance of capacity limits in daily life. This 10th anniversary Classic Edition will continue to be accessible to a wide range of readers and serve as an invaluable reference for all memory researchers.
The Baddeley and Hitch (1974) Working Memory model holds a central place in experimental psychology and continues to be extremely successful in guiding and stimulating research in applied and theoretical domains. Yet the model now faces challenges from conflicting data and competing theories. In this book, experienced researchers in the field address the question: Will the model survive these challenges? They explain why it is so successful, evaluate its weaknesses with respect to opposing data and theories and present their vision of the future of the model in their particular area of research. The book includes a discussion of the "Episodic Buffer" component which has recently been added to the working memory model. The result is a comprehensive and critical assessment of the working memory model and its contribution to current research in human cognition, cognitive development, neuroscience and computational modelling. Furthermore, this collection serves as a case study to illustrate the range of factors that determine the success or failure of a theory and as a forum for discussing what researchers want from scientific theories. The book begins with an accessible introduction to the model for those new to the field and explains the empirical methods used in working memory research. It concludes by highlighting areas of consensus and suggesting a programme of research to address issues of continuing controversy. Working Memory in Perspective will be a valuable resource to students and researchers alike in the fields of human memory, language, thought and cognitive development.
Bringing together cutting-edge research, this Handbook is the first comprehensive text to examine the pivotal role of working memory in first and second language acquisition, processing, impairments, and training. Authored by a stellar cast of distinguished scholars from around the world, the Handbook provides authoritative insights on work from diverse, multi-disciplinary perspectives, and introduces key models of working memory in relation to language. Following an introductory chapter by working memory pioneer Alan Baddeley, the collection is organized into thematic sections that discuss working memory in relation to: Theoretical models and measures; Linguistic theories and frameworks; First language processing; Bilingual acquisition and processing; and Language disorders, interventions, and instruction. The Handbook is sure to interest and benefit researchers, clinicians, speech therapists, and advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in linguistics, psychology, education, speech therapy, cognitive science, and neuroscience, or anyone seeking to learn more about language, cognition and the human mind.
In the World Library of Psychologists series, international experts present themselves career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, and their major theoretical and practical contributions. Alan Baddeley has an international reputation as an eminent scholar and pioneer in the field of human memory, and is principally known for the theory of working memory, devised with Graham Hitch. This model continues to be valuable today in recognising the functions of short-term memory. This volume includes a specially written introduction by Alan Baddeley which gives an overview of the start of his career and his entry into the field of Psychology. Throughout the book he also provides introductions to the selection of works included and contextualises them in relation to changes in the field during this time. Exploring Working Memory includes the author’s most influential publications on topics including short-term memory, the distinctions between short and long-term memory, the theory of working memory, the phonological loop, the concept of the central executive, and the episodic buffer. This exceptional selection concludes with an article giving a broad overview of the author’s current views on working memory and its relation to other theories in the field. Through his outstanding work Alan Baddeley has become known as a world-leading expert on human memory. Exploring Working Memory is a unique collection which will be of great interest to both students and researchers interested in human memory from psychology backgrounds.
Working memory is the ability to hold in mind information that has been previously processed, while processing and assimilating incoming information. This volume attempts to offer an integrative yet comprehensive approach to working memory by focusing on detailed comparisons of major theoretical proposals about working memory variation.
'Working Memory, Thought, and Action' is the magnum opus of one of the most influential cognitive psychologists of the past 50 years. This new volume on the model he created (with Graham Hitch) discusses the developments that have occurred within the model in the past twenty years, and places it within a broader context. Working memory is a temporary storage system that underpins our capacity for coherent thought. Some 30 years ago, Baddeley and Hitch proposed a way of thinking about working memory that has proved to be both valuable and influential in its application to practical problems. This book updates the theory, discussing both the evidence in its favour, and alternative approaches. In addition, it discusses the implications of the model for understanding social and emotional behaviour, concluding with an attempt to place working memory in a broader biological and philosophical context. Inside are chapters on the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, the central executive and the episodic buffer. There are also chapters on the relevance to working memory of studies of the recency effect, of work based on individual differences, and of neuroimaging research. The broader implications of the concept of working memory are discussed in the chapters on social psychology, anxiety, depression, consciousness and on the control of action. Finally, Baddeley discusses the relevance of a concept of working memory to the classic problems of consciousness and free will. This new volume from one of the pioneers in memory research will doubtless emulate the success of its predecessor, and be a major publication within the psychological literature.
Conceived as the successor to Gregg and Steinberg's Cognitive Processes in Writing, this book takes a multidisciplinary approach to writing research. The authors describe their current thinking and data in such a way that readers in psychology, English, education, and linguistics will find it readable and stimulating. It should serve as a resource book of theory, tools and techniques, and applications that should stimulate and guide the field for the next decade. The chapters showcase approaches taken by active researchers in eight countries. Some of these researchers have published widely in their native language but little of their work has appeared in English-language publications.
