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Cited by 2,390Cognitive Abilities and TestingNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesCognitive Functions and Memory

Exploring the Central Executive

Baddeley, Alan·1996·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A
DOI 10.1080/713755608
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Abstract

The central executive component of working memory is a poorly specified and very powerful system that could be criticized as little more than a homunculus. A research strategy is outlined that attempts to specify and analyse its component functions and is illustrated with four lines of research. The first concerns the study of the capacity to coordinate performance on two separate tasks. A second involves the capacity to switch retrieval strategies as reflected in random generation. The capacity to attend selectively to one stimulus and inhibit the disrupting effect of others comprises the third line of research, and the fourth involves the capacity to hold and manipulate information in long-term memory, as reflected in measures of working memory span. It is suggested that this multifaceted approach is a fruitful one that leaves open the question of whether it will ultimately prove more appropriate to regard the executive as a unified system with multiple functions, or simply as an agglomeration of independent though interacting control processes. In the meantime, it seems useful to continue to use the concept of a central executive as a reminder of the crucially important control functions of working memory.

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Crossref · 10.1080/713755608

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  • The operation of the 'central executive' or 'supervisory attentional system' that the frontal lobes are thought to support is bound up with the operation of other systems to a degree that the nonexecutive components of vision or hearing are not.

    “Thus the operation of the 'central executive' (Baddeley, 1996) or 'supervisory attentional system' (Shallice, 1988) that the frontal lobes are thought to support is bound up with the operation of other systems to a degree that the nonexecutive components of, say, vision or hearing are not.”

    From The case for the development and use of ecologically valid measures of executive function in experimental and clinical neuropsychology (2006) · cites this paper as Baddeley, 1996

  • Random number generation is thought to block both articulatory/phonological slave processes and to require direct attention from the central executive in order to avoid generating nonrandom number sequences.

    “In working memory studies, a further control task is sometimes included to interfere with the central executive: random number generation, for example, is thought to block both articulatory/phonological slave processes and to require direct attention from the central executive in order to avoid generating nonrandom number sequences (Baddeley, 1996).”

    From Inner Speech: Development, Cognitive Functions, Phenomenology, and Neurobiology (2015) · cites this paper as Baddeley, 1996

  • The 2-back condition has higher cognitive load than the 0-back condition.

    “Based on the cognitive load of the 2-back condition (20–22)”

    From Dynamic reconfiguration of frontal brain networks during executive cognition in humans (2015) · cites this paper as [20]

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Authors
Baddeley, A.
Affiliations
University of Bristol (GB)
Corresponding author
Baddeley, Alan
ORCID
Baddeley, Alan
Venue
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
1996-02
Volume
49
Issue
1
Pages
5-28
ISSN
  • 0272-4987 (ISSN-L)
  • 1464-0740
DOI
10.1080/713755608
OpenAlex
W2018676344
Semantic Scholar
fe48087f29b88fa93db11b31af6776a87bf98d7e
Cited by
2,390
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 28 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 73 · 2020: 68 · 2019: 129 · 2018: 91 · 2017: 88 · 2016: 98 · 2015: 105 · 2014: 111 · 2013: 130 · 2012: 104
FWCI
55.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A (publishedVersion)
  • Explore Bristol Research (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
Keywords
central executive, working memory, dual-task performance, task switching, random generation, selective attention, inhibition, working memory span, long-term memory, control processes, homunculus

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