Working memory is a major construct in many modern cognitive theories. Defining functions of working memory are storage and processing. This paper provides a study of the problems of correspondence between these functions. It has been figured out that the main difference between these two functions is determined by the following dichotomy: independence/dependence of storage and processing. In the context of stimuli and time correlation studies, these two functions are closely related and based on sharing a common non-specific resource. Studies that analyze resource switching and also correlated and isolated functioning of working memory presuppose some independence between storage and processing. It has been mentioned that this assumption requires some specialized ‘dispatcher’, providing an optimal switching between storage and processing with respect to current contextual limits.

Empirical approaches to the study of storage-processing correspondence are analyzed. Based on this analysis, it is concluded that (1) storage and processing depend on unspecific cognitive resources, (2) storage and processing are realized independently from each other; and (3) storage and processing interact on the basis of the switching of resources via a specialized mechanism. The results can be used in the development of working memory models and for the extension of current ideas about the realization of operative storage and processing.