Working memory phonological loop — MRCPsych Paper A MCQ

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ModeratePsychologyWorking memory phonological loopMRCPsych Paper A

A 26-year-old man views a seven-digit telephone number for 2 seconds. During its presentation and a 10-second retention interval, he repeatedly says the word “the” aloud at a steady rate. His immediate serial recall is worse than when he remains silent. Which mechanism best accounts for this impairment?

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Correct answer: B — Interference with the phonological loop

The correct answer is B. Repeating “the” is an articulatory-suppression task. It occupies the articulatory rehearsal process of the phonological loop, reducing the ability to recode and rehearse the visually presented digits for immediate serial recall. The visuospatial sketchpad primarily maintains visual and spatial representations, although the digits can initially be seen visually. Semantic memory and procedural priming are long-term memory systems and do not explain this short retention-interval effect. The episodic buffer integrates information across working-memory systems and long-term memory, but the stem describes interference with verbal rehearsal rather than excessive multimodal binding.

Reference: Ward G, Beaman PC. The Working Memory Model and the relationship between immediate serial recall and immediate free recall. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2025;78(2):310–336. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39223965/