Is this how Photoshop Elements works?

Having used Photoshop Elements 11 for quite some time, I thought I could get a better understanding of the process by setting it against the standard Colour Management model:

Image file -> colour profile A -> Working Colour Space -> colour profile B -> printer.

The outcome has surprised me, and so I would be grateful if others would say whether my understanding is correct:

1. Colour Profile A links the image file to the Working Space. This is a constant relationship, the Profile is built-in and needs no adjustments.

2. Colour Profile B is set by the selection of the paper.

3. The saturation, etc adjustments made in PSE 11 are directly onto the image. Thereafter, other adjustments are made through  the PSE 11 Print menus ( eg Advanced Settings(click to launch Printer Preferences) and Colour Controls (uses matching and enhancements provided by the printer driver) operate on the printer driver, except for ICM which uses the Colour Profiles in Windows.

4. Whereas the adjustments made in PSE 11 can be viewed on the screen, those made in the Print screens (eg Colour Model - Colour Controls - Brightness) are viewed on the small thumbnails and changes do not appear in the image displayed in the Print Preview screen.

The adjustment ranges for these controls are substantial, -25 to +25, and so, on the face of it, are very significant. So I wonder whether they render fine adjustments made in PSE 11 superfluous?  

The printer driver is, perhaps, more important than the Colour Profiles.