What does the term slave systems refer to in the working memory model?

• A. Episodic buffer.
• B. Central executive only.
• C. Long-term memory stores.
• D. Phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad, which are controlled by the central executive.

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that the central executive acts as the control system of working memory, directing attention and coordinating how different storage components handle information. The term “slave systems” refers to the subsystems that carry out specific types of processing under that control. In this model, the two slave systems are the phonological loop, which handles verbal information through a phonological store and an articulatory rehearsal process, and the visuo-spatial sketchpad, which deals with visual and spatial information. Both operate under the central executive’s guidance, converting and maintaining information as needed.

Episodic buffer is a later addition that integrates information from these subsystems and links to long-term memory, rather than being one of the slave systems. Long-term memory stores aren’t the slave components of working memory; they’re a separate, larger store the central executive can draw on. So the phrase slave systems specifically describes the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad, controlled by the central executive.