Why was the Episodic Buffer added to the Working Memory Model?

• A. To increase the capacity of the Phonological Loop
• B. To address capacity and integration shortcomings of earlier models
• C. To store long-term memories
• D. To replace the Visuospatial Sketchpad

Answer: (B)

The Episodic Buffer was added to address capacity and integration shortcomings of earlier models. The original working memory components handled specific types of information separately (like sounds in the phonological loop and visuals in the visuospatial sketchpad) and were managed by the central executive, but there wasn’t a place to bind these different kinds of information into a single, time-ordered experience or to connect that temporary store with long-term memory. The Episodic Buffer provides a temporary storage with limited capacity that can hold and integrate multimodal information from different subsystems and link it with long-term memory, creating coherent episodes. This helps explain how we can form sequences or events that feel like a single scene, even though they come from multiple sources. It doesn’t increase the capacity of the phonological loop, it doesn’t store long-term memories, and it doesn’t replace the visuospatial sketchpad.