Short Term And Working Memory

Short Term and Working Memory

Frimy Frankel

Cognitive Psychology

Memory is the process in which the brain stores information and then retrieves it. During our daily lives, we rely on our memory to help us store and remember knowledge. Short term memory and working memory are both models that help our brain temporarily store information. That is the reason we often obtain new pieces of information but then forget it a short while later. Short-term memory stores small amounts of information for a limited time. Both new information, received from the sensory stores, and information recalled from long-term memory is included in short-term memory. A demonstration was conducted on the duration of short-term memory. Participants were told to read three letters, then a number and begin counting backwards by threes. After a set time, they were asked to recall three letters. After three seconds of counting, participants performed at 80% and after 18 seconds, they performed at 10%.

When we learn new information we use our memory to retain the knowledge we have acquired. When we remember information for only a short time our short-term memory holds the information. “Items can be kept in short term memory by repeating them verbally (acoustic encoding), a process known as rehearsal”. (McLeod, S. A. (2009). Short term memory) This can be a helpful way to remember information. The working memory handles real life tasks such as reading, problem solving, and navigation. The reason we often forget things such as lists or other small information is because of the limitations of working memory. For children who have poor working memory skills there are ways to strengthen and improve the working memory. Chunking information into smaller bits, working on visualization skills and encouraging active reading are all ways to build up working memory.( 8 Working Memory Boosters, Amanda