Understanding the Differences: Semantic Memory vs. Working Memory

In this document we will discuss about Understanding the Differences and below are the summary points of this document:- Semantic memory and working memory are two different types of memory stored by the brain. Semantic memory stores facts and events, while working memory is accumulated through personal experiences and is short-term. The working memory is not aligned with Baddeley's model and includes short-term storage of semantic information.

Running head: WORKING MEMORY
WORKING MEMORY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

2WORKING MEMORY
Introduction
Semantic memory refers to the memory that is stored by our brain with relation to facts
and events that occur in our life time. It is different from episodic or short term memory also
referred to as working memory that is accumulated and represented by the brain when required.
This memory allows people to perform the daily activities of our lives. Semantic memory is the
general memory that we accumulate throughout lives through our perception of the world around
us. This memory is recalled or represented by the brain explicitly when required and mostly
includes visual and verbal memories. While working memory is the memory that we accumulate
through our personal experiences and is generally short term. The difference between semantic
memory and working memory is the way how the brain sores them and the way it is used.
Several models have been designed and theorized regarding the storage of semantic and working
memory. The most important part of the working memory or short term memory is attributed to
the primary memory where information I stored initially before being retaining or discarding the
piece of information. Alan Baddeley along with his counterpart Graham Hitch theorized a model
that explains the storage processes of the brain. They have stated that the working memory splits
the primary memory into various components as opposed to the general notion that working
memory is single unified construction of the brain. However this report will try to understand the
working process of short term memory and how they do not align with Baddeley’s model of
short term memory. The discussion s that will involve the argument that semantic memory is
only attributed to short term storage of semantic information, which opposes Baddeley’s theory
that short term memory only store information in the form of visual phonological and episodic
information. The paper will discuss the model of Baddeley and other theories to construct the
argument and conclude with the revelations that will be derived from the discussion.

3WORKING MEMORY
The concept of Memory and its Forms
There has been confusion relating to the various types of memory and how they are
classified. The defining of the various forms of memory has been approached by various scholars
and therefore confusion has been created while understanding the concept of the memory.
Memory can be broadly classified under three domains that represent three different aspect of
memory. These are the long term memory, the Short Term memory and the Working memory.
While discussing these various forms of memory we need to understand the various functions
that are attributed to these memory types and how they perform with relation to human activities.
As observed, the brain segregates these memories into various stages, where by any information
is first stored in the short term memory, and is then passed to the long-term memory if it is
required or discards it to make room for newer information. The longer the association of
information the greater is the chance of the information being associated with the long term
memory.
The long-term memory is the storage process of the brain where information is stored
indefinitely and is brought into action when required. The Short Term Memory performs the
basic processes of storing information and has been categorised into different components that
process the information according to the kind of inputs that are received. Short term memory is
categorised with the attributes that it exhibits in retaining information in the form of “Chunk
capacity” and ‘temporal decay’.
The Working memory on the other hand has been conceived in a different manner and is
defined in three different ways based on the way it performs. These function as a short term
memory when applied to performing cognitive tasks, as a multi component system that retains
and operate information in short term memory. The working memory also works in the

4WORKING MEMORY
managing attention of the short term memory and recollecting information as and when required.
The working memory has also been described by some as the those functions which seem like a
routine performance and hold very less relation to cognitive thinking and are involved in
attention seeking activities.
The working memory is not a part of the long term memory but contributes significantly
in functioning of the long term memory. The working memory functions in a cyclic process
whereby any memory is first retained in the working memory and on the basis of its usage the
memory is either retained by the long-term memory or discarded. Again while performing any
activity, the brain brings the information from the long-term memory to the working memory
and performs the concerned activity. It is therefore necessary to understand that there are
conflicting theories on memory and the mechanism of the brain can be independent from the
mechanism of the mind. The following section will first analyse Baddeley’s theory of working
memory and consecutively evaluate the relevance with the argument that the semantic working
memory is not just restricted to visual phonological and episodic information storage, but also
retains information in the form of semantic storage of information.
The Argument:
Baddeleys model only allows for visual phonological and episodic information storage.
Baddeley’s model of Working Memory
According to Baddeley, working memory is a dedicated system that stores and maintains
information in the short term and manipulates the human cognitive facilities. He also states that
the working memory works in the form of subsequent hierarchical processes that include a
central executive and two different storage systems. These storage systems retain information or

5WORKING MEMORY
memory in the form of Phonological loop and the visual sketchpad. The theory as put by
Baddeley emphasizes on the dichotomous nature of the memory function of the brain and the
way the mind processes these information.
The Theory
The theory states that the working memory of the brain is actually a segregated system
that provides temporary storage and manipulates the information which is necessary for
performing cognitive tasks similar to comprehension of language, reasoning and learning a set of
skills. He also states that the definition of the working memory as described by him has been
derived from the initial concept of the working memory that was based on a unitary model of
short term memory system. Baddeley has divided the working memory as a function of three
sub components that perform simultaneously to perform storage and processing activities within
the distinctive components that are dedicated to such cognitive processes. The three main
subcomponents have been identified as the Central Executive, which is assumed to be the system
that controls the attention of the brain while performing tasks or activities, such as playing
Chess. The Central executive has two slave components that determine how the information will
be retained and is segregated in the ‘Phonological loop’ and the ‘Visuospatial sketchpad’. The
phonological loop stores and retrieves speech based information and is instrumental in storing
information regarding the learning of the mother language or any foreign language. While on the
contrary the Visuospatial Sketchpad retains information in the form of visual images and retains
them when required by the brain. Baddeley states that Working memory stands at “the cross
roads between memory, attention and perception”. The slave systems of the central executive
can fit into the evolved theories of speech perception and speech production and similarly
overlap with the concepts of the visuospatial sketchpad that stores information through visual

6WORKING MEMORY
reorientation of the information. The nature of the central executive will also align with parallel
models that identify attention controlling attributes as a function of the working memory.
The central executive
The Central Executive as stated in the theory by Baddeley explains that the Central
Executive is the main component that is responsible for the control, attention deliverance and
regulation of cognitive processes. The Central Executive is responsible for the updating, coding,
replacing and retaining of information. Along with it also performs the task of segregation of
information based on their similarities and eventually help the mind to coordinate the slave
systems, prioritization of the tasks and ensuring revival strategies that update old information and
replace them with the new and updated information required during such situations. The Central
Executive has major functions in coordinating its slave systems and managing information
perceived by the slave systems. According to a research they performed on Patients with
Alzheimer’s are impaired when multiple tasks were requested to perform by these subjects they
fail to do so even when they had previous knowledge of the abilities. This proves the fact that the
brain processes information through the help of the slave systems.
The Phonological loop
The Phonological loop is the slave system of the Central Executive and is responsible for
the processing of information based on the sound or the phonetic expression of information. The
phonological Loop stores the information based on the auditory memory which is a short term
phonological storage and an articulatory loop that retains or revive the auditory information
received through the phonological loop. The phonological store receives information that has
chances of high decay and is therefore remembered back with the help of the auditory memory.
The Phonological Loop stores information in the form of sound expressions and might receive

7WORKING MEMORY
information in various forms such as visual information might be represented in the phonological
loop in the form of phonological codes. The phonological Loop retains information in the form
of the sound and might act as the inner ear through which sound or speech based information is
received and retained. It is assumed that auditory information in the form of verbal
communication is received by default by the phonological loop. The transformation of the
information in the form of sound or auditory code is fostered by the ariculatory control process.
The phonological loop consists of a storage that retains the memory for few seconds and with a
process of re articulation retains the memory when required. Various factors have been traced
that influence the retention such as the length of the words or the similarity of the sounds stored
in the long term memory.
The Visuospatial sketchpad
The visuospatial sketchpad is one of the slave systems of the central executive and is
believed to function simultaneously as well as independently. The visual sketchpad is assumed to
retain information through similar processes of the phonological loop and includes two
components, a visual cache which collects the information and a retrieval rehearsal process that
reconciles the information from the working memory. The Visuospatial sketchpad holds
information in the form of images or with reference to space and is thought to have its own
storage of the working memory. It is independent in nature and can perform without interference
of the phonological loop. Similar to the phonological loop, the visuospatial short term memory
retains informations in the form of either visual or spatial information for a brief period of time
and therefore when the visuospatial sketchpad is used, humans can momentarily recreate mental
images of the informations stored in their working memory. For example we generally hold faint
images of what we have seen but did not attend to. The informations are not encoded within the

8WORKING MEMORY
working memory if the visual information is not attended or the information is not associated
immediately to the working memory and is discarded from the memory. Baddeley has however
accepted that more understanding is required to completely decipher the working mechanism of
the visuospatial sketchpad and the way it performs. As per researches conducted by him, the
visuospatial sketchpad allows for the visual manipulation of the objects or spaces through
interpretation of the information in such forms are the major modes of operation of the
visuospatial sketchpad.
The Episodic Buffer
The addition of the Episodic buffer initiated the scope of further research as Baddeley has
observed that in certain cases patients with memory losses or with inability to relate something to
the long-term memory can retain certain short term incidents which cannot be stored in the
phonological loop or the Visuospatial sketchpad . Thus came the idea of a fourth component that
determines the storage of system that is dedicated in linking information across the various
subsystems that form the integrated components of the visual, the spatial, the verbal and the
time based information. The episodic buffer is believed to have links to long term memory and
semantic memory. The episodic buffer is believed to be associated with chronological thinking
and is mostly reflected while remembering a movie scene or a lyrical sequence of a song or a
dance.
Semantic working memory is related to short term storage of semantic information
While discussing Semantic memory we need to understand that semantic memory is
generally attributed to long-term memory or the information that has been accumulated in the
form of knowledge and has less chances of decay ay compared to working memory or the
episodic memory. The argument here lays in the fact that according to Baddeley, the short term

9WORKING MEMORY
working memory is a result or rather a function of multiple hierarchical systems. It is not
attributed to permanent memory initially but is dependent on the character of the information and
the attention that has been paid to the information or the way the mind has remembered it.
Semantic memory includes information that allows us to perform basic tasks or analyse things
based on our experiences and knowledge. As stated by Baddeley, regarding the multi level
framework of the working memory he theorized that short term recall is dependent on several
components that come into play and store information based on these components of audio visual
and spatial recognition. . For Instance the recalling of arithmetic information or a nursery rhyme
long after we have acquired that information defy the theory that working memory retains its
memories through the various levels of subsystems. The semantic working memory takes time
and experiences to convert these piece of information into the long term memory. The conflict
arises when recollection of the information is done. It has been observed that there are instances
where the brain recollects many activities and memories irrespective of the time it happened and
is a perfect example of the use of the sematic working memory which works differently as
compared to working memory theory by Baddeley. The most important understanding of
semantic working memory explains us that certain facts and information are such stored that they
require no recalling or working memory to retain their information. This is mostly attributed to
the several knowledge based information that have been acquired at some point. The questions
arises that if we follow the Baddeley’s model of working memory, how do we define the nature
of the semantic working memory? It is therefore to understand that the semantic working
memory includes certain processes that are to be identified and does not necessarily depend on
the Baddeley’s model of working memory. It can be understood with reference to the Baddeley’s
model that semantic memory either includes its own short term storage processes that determine

10WORKING MEMORY
how the retrieval of the information will take place or decide the rehearsal activity to retain the
information. the amount of semantic information that is stored cannot be brought to the working
memory or retained with the phonological or visuospatial sketchpad. Though Baddeley had
included a fourth component to describe the nature of the memory that is retained as an episodic
buffer, it cannot be brought under the purview of semantic working memory. As Baddeley has
admitted the drawbacks into the knowledge about the central executive and the episodic buffer, it
can be argued that the semantic working memory might have short term storage of semantic
information that dedicatedly retrieves semantic memories and carries out functions that
determine the way semantic information is retrieved and less decay is observed. The semantic
working memory is therefore related to short term storage of information that facilitate the
expression of the cognitive thinking skills with relation to the activities of the semantic
memories.
Conclusion:
The difference between long-term and short term memory distinguishes the way we recall
or remember an event or perform a task. The daily activities involve performing tasks that
involve usage of long-term memory and Short term memory. The most important aspect that is
attributed to the semantic memory when compared to working memory is that these are two
different forms of memories and the y function differently. With the analysis of the model of
working memory of Baddeley, it can be understood that working memory is distinguished from
short term memory and is comprised of sub systems that act a master and a slave system. The
major difference in short term and long term memories is the difference in the way they are
acquired and the way they operate mostly relating to their rate of decay and capacity. The paper

11WORKING MEMORY
argues the fact the semantic working memory, which is similar to the working memory includes
short term semantic information as opposed to Baddeley’s Phonological and Visuospatial
subsystems of the working memory. The major distinction that can be found between short-term
memory and working memory is that one depends on the definition that an individual agrees to.
However, it has been observed that certain instances serve the theory of Baddeley while some
instances do not align with them. This provides the key to understand that semantic working
memory is associated with the short term storage of semantic information. it is known that
semantic memory relates to the factual information that is related to knowledge rather than
experiences, while working memory is the memory of context derived out of personal
experiences. We come to understand from the analysis of the Baddeley’s model about the
phonological and the visuospatial sketchpad that are responsible for the working memory to
function and retrieve information as and when required and therefore the argument stands from
the perspective that there are certain information that we retain that are contextual in nature but
the details that these memories hold cannot be possible for the working memory to store owing
to its chunk capacity. Semantic memory being older than episodic memory or working memory
and having infinite capacity might have a chance of retaining this information in the form of
semantic information which justifies the nature of its slow decay.

12WORKING MEMORY
Bibliography
Baddeley, A., 2012. Working memory: theories, models, and controversies. Annual review of
psychology, 63, pp.1-29.
Baddeley, A., 2003. Working memory and language: An overview. Journal of communication
disorders, 36(3), pp.189-208.
Baddeley, A., 2003. Working memory: looking back and looking forward. Nature reviews
neuroscience, 4(10), p.829.