Baddeley 2000

There has been much research on the dynamic nature of working memory (Baddeley 2000; Repovs & Baddeley 2006). The concept of working memory was first introduced in a paper by Baddeley & Hitch (1974). Following on from this, Baddeley (1986, 1990, 1992) proposed that the main neural network that forms working memory includes the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketch pad and the central executive. From his research, Baddeley concluded that, under certain conditions, subjects are able to carry out two tasks simultaneously as long as the tasks are being done by more than one of the components of working memory; for example, one task utilises the phonological loop and the other utilises the visuospatial sketch pad. If one accepts that Baddeley is correct, a memory task using pictorial stimuli should not be affected by an articulatory suppression condition as the pictorial stimuli will be processed by the visuospatial sketch pad and the suppression task by the phonological loop. However, research in this area has suggested that memory for visual stimuli can be affected by a suppression task (Henson, Burgess & Frith 2000; Baddeley 1992). This effect is assumed to occur because articulatory …show more content…
Sense et al. (2016) conducted an experiment using distinctly-coloured squares with a suppression condition and a silent condition. From their results, they concluded that, while some research shows an effect from suppression; it does not imply that it always occurs, or that articulatory suppression is particularly beneficial for all types of stimuli. This resolution is supported by other research such as Larson & Baddeley 2003, who surmised that subjects avoid subvocal rehearsal for difficult to rehearse stimuli on mental tasks. Further, research by Morey & Cowan (2005) indicated that an articulatory suppression task has no effect on visual array task