Models of Working Memory: Mechanisms of Active Maintenance and Executive Control [Paperback]

Akira Miyake (Editor), Priti Shah (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0521587212 | ISBN-13: 978-0521587211 | Edition: 1

Working memory is currently a "hot" topic in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Because of their radically different scopes and emphases, however, comparing different models and theories and understanding how they relate to one another has been a difficult task. This work offers a much-needed forum for systematically comparing and contrasting existing models of working memory. It does so by asking each contributor to address the same comprehensive set of important theoretical questions on working memory. The answers to these questions elucidate the emerging general consensus on the nature of working memory among different theorists and clarify incompatible theoretical claims that must be resolved in future research. As such, this volume serves not only as a milestone that documents the state of the art in the field, but also as a theoretical guidebook that will promote new lines of research and more precise and comprehensive models of working memory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Given the varied and disparate nature of working memory models, a volume that asks its contributors to provide a definition and address the same eight basic issues is not just welcome but long overdue." Contemporary Psychology

"[A] good summary of developments in working memory theory....For the reader wanting a review of current thinking...this volume is quite useful....[T]he editors...have provided an important service to experts in this field." American Journal of Psychology

"The organization that the editors implemented was very helpful in understanding and comparing theories....recommended for anyone who strives to remain current in the neurosciences." Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

"Hats off to the editors who assembled 10 diverse models in one volume, representing moves toward unified theories of cognition, a goal advocated by Newell (1990) and reinforced by many...The volume provides a vast amount of factual information to novices...[it] gives experts an opportunity to ponder significant issues that challenge them to develop new and better systems...the editors largely achieved their goals and have provided an important service to experts in the field." American Journal of Psychology

"The product for the most part is readable with the neural computational models probably being the most abstruse."

Book Description

Working memory is a transient memory that plays an essential role in the performance of virtually all complex cognitive activities. Recently dubbed as "the hub of cognition," it is currently one of the hottest topics in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. This volume systematically compares existing models of working memory by asking each contributor to address the same set of important and controversial theoretical questions. The volume also provides a much needed synthesis of seemingly disparate models and outlines future research directions for the field.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (April 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521587212
• ISBN-13: 978-0521587211
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,334,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extensive review of many topics on Working Memory, February 12, 2000

By 

"joojo-banana" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Models of Working Memory: Mechanisms of Active Maintenance and Executive Control (Paperback)

This book presents a clear and friendly overview of the Working Memory (WM) field, but is by no way simplistic in its form. The reader will learn a lot about the system/process(es) debate, about the implication of WM in cognitive tasks, an so on. Contributors, as well as editors, are top level researchers in the domain.

MUST be kown by any scientist working on the topic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for those seriously interested in working memory, September 15, 2005

By 

MEM (St. Louis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Models of Working Memory: Mechanisms of Active Maintenance and Executive Control (Paperback)

If you are a layperson who wants to learn more about the topic of 'human memory', this is not the book for you (as evidenced by one of the earlier reviews). However, if you are a scientist, educator or serious student who wishes to know more about the concept of working memory, this book is essential reading. The editors have done an excellent job in identifying the 8 most important issues/questions in the field and then asking the authors of the 10 most influential models to attempt to answer these questions using their model. This lets the reader see the different strengths and weaknesses of the different models (in their authors' own words) and their commonalities and differences. The editors then are kind enough to summarize the major issues on which there is consensus, what remains to be debated and useful future directions for research. There is no ultimate conclusion as there is still much work to be done.

In a nutshell, students if you want to know about working memory, this is THE book. The reason I say students is that all the top researchers in working memory already own a copy of this book.

3 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Failed Attempt..., March 3, 2002

By 

J. E. Holmes (Mesa, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Models of Working Memory: Mechanisms of Active Maintenance and Executive Control (Paperback)

There are many different scientific models of how human memory works. This book's authors posed the same eight questions to a dozen different experts in memory research. The hope was that intense contrast and comparison between different and seemingly contradictory models of how memory works would guide the reader to the next level of enlightenment.

This book fails for two reasons. First, in each instance some of the questions asked are inappropriate given the model under discussion. No current theory of how human memory works addresses all issues; rather than to state the limits of her model, each contributing researcher tended to respond to some of the questions via informal discussion or even handwaiving.

The second, and more serious failure, is the inability of the editors to guide the reader to any meaningful conclusions. By the end of the book we see twelve different models of human memory as nothing more than twelve different models of human memory; no "ahaa" has occured, no enlightenment via contrast and comparison.

There are many, many better tomes. Save your time and money for these.