Working Memory, Thought, and Action

Working Memory, Thought, and Action is the magnum opus of one of the most influential cognitive psychologists of the past fifty years. Working memory is a temporary storage system that underpins our capacity for coherent thought. Some thirty years ago, Alan Baddeley (with Graham Hitch) proposed a model for 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, Braddeley 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 is a major publication within the psychological literature.

Alan Baddeley, Department of Psychology, University of York, UK