The multicomponent model of working memory fifty years on

Abstract

We provide a broad overview of our original investigation of working memory; how the multicomponent model followed from our use of a dissociative methodology; and our intention that it should be simple, robust, and applicable. We describe how subsequent development of the model has increased its scope, depth, and applications while at the same time retaining its core features. Comparisons with the growing number of alternative models suggest agreement on the basic phenomena to be explained and more similarities than differences. While differences between models attract interest, we caution that they do not necessarily reflect the most important issues for future research, which we suggest relate principally to the nature of executive control. The longevity of the multicomponent model reflects not only the importance of working memory in cognition but also the usefulness of a simple, robust framework for further theoretical development and applications.

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