The DOI matches its Crossref record; 6 of the 6 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Exploring the Central Executive
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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In the citing paper
“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
In the citing paper
“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
In the citing paper
“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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Metadata
- 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
- OpenAlex
- W2018676344
- Semantic Scholar
- fe48087f29b88fa93db11b31af6776a87bf98d7e
- Cited by
- 2,390
- References
- 6
- 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
- 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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