Which subsystem is primarily responsible for maintaining verbal sequences like a phone number?

• A. Visuospatial Sketchpad
• B. Central Executive
• C. Phonological Loop
• D. Episodic Buffer

Answer: (C)

Verbal sequences are kept in the phonological loop, a part of Baddeley’s working memory model specialized for speech-based information. It has two parts: a phonological store that briefly holds spoken items and an articulatory rehearsal process that silently repeats them to refresh the memory trace. When you dial a phone number, you typically subvocally rehearse it to maintain it in memory, which is exactly what the phonological loop is designed to do.

The other components play different roles. The Visuospatial Sketchpad handles visual and spatial information, like picturing a map. The Central Executive allocates attention and coordinates processing between subsystems. The Episodic Buffer integrates information across modalities and links to long-term memory. While they assist in various tasks, they aren’t primarily responsible for maintaining verbal sequences like a phone number.