ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises the issues that emerge from the previous chapters, highlighting areas of consensus and of disagreement. It assesses whether the strengths of the WM model outweigh its weaknesses, and whether it looks a viable model for future research into short-term memory and general cognition. The future of the model depends not only on the balance of its own strengths and weaknesses, but also on those of competing models. I will begin by summarising the contributing authors’ answers to the four questions that form the backbone of the book, and then outline a research programme to build on the strengths of the WM model while tackling its weaknesses. The summary of the contributors’ answers follows the structure of the main part of the book, that is, it is split into Applied and Theoretical parts. Note that this is not a strict division, and that many theoretical issues emerge from using the model for applied research.
