ABSTRACT
The book is organised in four parts. This introductory chapter in the first part explains the historical context of the WM model and summarises the current evidence support ing i t . I t a lso describes the various methodologies employed in working memory research, and which form the basis for the research discussed in subsequent chapters. For readers new to the working memory field, this introduction sets the scene for the subsequent chapters; the background reading sections at the ends of the chapters suggest starting points for additional reading. The main body of the book is broadly divided into applied and theoretical approaches. Part II on Applied Perspectives illustrates the use of the WM model as a conceptual tool for guiding research into other aspects of cognition. Chapters in the Applied Perspectives part evaluate the model’s contribution to research in mental imagery, consciousness, neuroimaging, language acquisition, and individual differences in cognition across typical and atypical lifespan development. The third part, Theoretical Perspectives, assesses some new data and alternative theoretical approaches which challenge the WM model and the assumptions on which it was built. Chapters in this part evaluate explanations of verbal short-term memory phenomena in terms of working memory, and provide a commentary on the concept of the central executive. The division into applied and theoretical research is somewhat arbitrary because the two are mutually informative. Applied research has contributed to the evolution of WM theory and theoretical developments have influenced applied research. The concluding part uses the authors’ answers to the four questions to conclude that the WM model remains a viable framework for applied and theoretical research, but that several weaknesses in the model must be addressed if it
is to remain useful in the future. A programme is outlined for future research to address these weaknesses while retaining the strengths of the WM model. The book concludes with a discussion of the implications of the newly proposed ‘episodic buffer’ component of the WM model.
