The Central Executive controls the processing in working memory. For example, it directs attention, maintains task goals, assists in retrieval of memory, and helps in decision making (Kane et al., 2001). Generally, the central Executive is the boss of working memory, given that it drives the entire system. It allocates data to visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, subsystems. It is also involved in problem-solving and mental arithmetic.
The Central Executive is a beneficial addition to Working memory. The Working Memory decides the information that should be processed and the parts of the working memory to receive the processed information to be used there. For instance, two activities conflict with each other, such as talking and driving. If a cyclist appears in front of the vehicle while wobbling all over, it is expected for the driver to stop talking and focus on driving. It is the Central Executive’s work to prioritize specific activities.
The central Executive is the most essential and versatile component of the working memory system. Despite its usefulness, little details about it are known compared to the components it controls. Baddeley opined that the central Executive works as a system that controls processes that require attention rather than seen as storage for memory.
Baddeley (1986) gives an overview of how the CE works by equating it to a company boss. The company boss is responsible for deciding which tasks should be given attention to and which ones to ignore for later. The company bosses also choose the strategies to solve a specific problem. The boss can do a few things simultaneously, just like any other person in the company. Suppose we equate this company boss to the central Executive. In that case, we can see how it works in working memory by combining data and information from the visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop and drawing on data held in the long-term memory.
The central Executive is heavily used where a higher level of executive control is needed to carry out crucial tasks requiring new approaches and behavior. For example, driving using a route familiar to you and nothing strange happens on your journey requires less central executive engagement. However, if the route is blocked just because of some road maintenance, the central Executive intervenes to stop the well-learned behavior of following the well-known route. In this case, the central Executive comes up with a plan to achieve the goal of reaching the destination or change the plan in case of traffic jams.
Executive processes depend on frontal lobe functioning in most cases (Kane & Engle, 2002). This is evidenced by several patients with frontal lobe damage having difficulty getting to a new way of solving problems instead of using the well-learned behavior. Baddeley referred to these difficulties as a dysexecutive syndrome (Baddeley & Della Sala, 1996). Therefore, it refers to the central Executive as an attention control component.
In conclusion, the central Executive as an active memory component is responsible for diving, switching, and focusing attention. It offers the control and regulation of the working memory system. It also coordinates all activities between all the components.
References
Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. W. Spence, & J. T. Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory (Vol. 2, pp. 89-195). New York: Academic Press.
Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working Memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kane, M. J., Bleckley, M. K., Conway, A. R. A., & Engle, R. W. (2001). A controlled-attention view of working-memory capacity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(2), 169–183. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.130.2.169
Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2002). The role of prefrontal cortex in working-memory capacity, executive attention, and general fluid intelligence: An individual differences perspective. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9(4), 637–671. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196323
write