In a study, researchers asked participants to remember a list of 7 digits while simultaneously performing a visuospatial task such as tracking a moving dot. A second group performed a verbal suppression task (repeating "the the the") instead. The visuospatial group recalled most digits accurately, but the verbal-suppression group's digit recall dropped sharply, suggesting different subsystems were taxed.
This pattern best supports which model of memory?
- A
Atkinson-Shiffrin's unitary short-term store with no subsystems
- B
A purely sensory iconic memory system
- Ccheck_circle
Baddeley's working memory model with separate phonological and visuospatial subsystems
- D
Tulving's episodic-semantic distinction in long-term memory
Explanation
Differential interference from verbal vs. visuospatial secondary tasks supports Baddeley's claim that working memory has dissociable phonological-loop and visuospatial-sketchpad components.