What is the phonological loop in working memory?
The phonological loop is one of the four components of Baddeley's working memory model. It is the subsystem responsible for temporarily storing verbal and acoustic information through a process of subvocal rehearsal — silently "saying" information in your head to prevent it from decaying.
It has two parts: the phonological store (holds acoustic traces for ~2 seconds before they fade) and the articulatory control process (the inner voice that refreshes the store by rehearsing). Information decays unless refreshed, which is why you lose a phone number if you're interrupted before dialling.
Key insight: The capacity of the phonological loop is partly determined by how quickly you can rehearse, not just how many items you can store. This is why words in languages with shorter syllables (e.g. Chinese digit names are shorter than English ones) produce higher digit spans — speakers can rehearse more items per second.
The Number Memory test directly loads the phonological loop. The Verbal Memory test loads episodic memory and the episodic buffer. The Sequence Memory test loads the visuospatial sketchpad. Taking all three gives you a complete working memory profile.
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Quick Answer
The phonological loop is a subsystem of working memory that stores verbal and acoustic information through subvocal rehearsal — silently repeating sounds. It is the main system loaded by digit span tests.
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