%% ### ==Todo== - [ ] Add from [[Psych]] - [ ] Add from [[Why We Forget and How to Remember Better]] - [ ] Add from [[Learning and Memory]] - [ ] [[Representations of the learning material should be designed to minimize their impact on working memory, make their key aspects accessible to learners, and suit the particular task and learner]] - [ ] Add the organization of components of WM (Baddeley & Hitch) - [ ] Add how WM contributes to cognitive functions - [ ] Add more examples - [ ] Skim [this paper](https://psyarxiv.com/963kf) - [ ] Skim [this paper](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27896630/) - [ ] Skim [this paper](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6105130/) - [ ] Skim [this paper](https://psyarxiv.com/jh6e3) %% Researchers have used the concepts of working memory as well as the closely related [[Short-term memory stores a small amount of information for a short period of time|short-term memory]] somewhat inconsistently.^[Cowan, 2017] This makes it somewhat difficult to read the literature on these topics in a coherent way. For the purpose of this note, working memory (WM) is a system of components that **holds a limited amount of information temporarily in a heightened state of availability for use in ongoing processing**.^[Adams et al., 2018] In other words, working memory allows you to **keep information "in mind" and manipulate it**.^[Budson & Kensinger, 2023] Some researchers have used the image of a "**mental workbench**", similar to a workbench in a carpentry shop, where information is used or manipulated to form a new product.^[Lieberman, 2021] On this definition, working memory is distinct from [[Short-term memory stores a small amount of information for a short period of time|short-term memory]] in that it involves "doing" something with the information rather than merely storing or repeating this information passively. An example to highlight this distinction: If you hear a list of grocery items and are asked to repeat the list, you use your short-term memory. However, if you are asked to repeat the list but in a different order, such as by which store you'll get the groceries from, you use your working memory.^[Adams et al., 2018] Information in working memory must be continuously **consciously attended to** or it will be lost.^[Budson & Kensinger, 2023] There are two **sources of information** that working memory draws from:^[Budson & Kensinger, 2023] 1. [[Sensory memory stores input from the senses for a few seconds to allow time to identify it|Sensory memory]]: Sensory memories fade quickly unless you focus your attention on them, in which case they are transferred into working memory. 2. [[Long-term memory stores a large amount of information for a long period of time|Long-term memory]]: Working memory can retrieve information from long-term memory based on retrieval cues in the present (internal and external) environment. Because of this dual source of information, Bloom (2023, p. 176) calls working memory an "**interface between world and mind**". Working memory is thought to contain **distinct subsystems with different functions**. These were initially proposed by Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch in 1974.^[Budson & Kensinger, 2023; Lieberman, 2021] 1. **Phonological loop**: This system keeps verbal, acoustically coded information in working memory. It can store about two seconds' worth of speech at a time. This information decays rapidly unless it is silently repeated in your mind – a process called subvocal rehearsal. 2. **Visuospatial sketchpad**: This system keeps visual information in working memory in the form of an image. It also holds spatial information about the location of objects in the environment. Both the visuospatial sketchpad and the phonological loop are thus specialized to store information until it is needed. 3. **Central executive**: This system decides what information to put into the two stores mentioned above and when and how to retrieve and manipulate it. In a top-down manner, it directs attention and other processing resources toward your explicit goals. It also decides which bottom-up sensory processes should reach consciousness and draw attention so you can act on them. 4. **Episodic buffer**: More recently, Alan Baddeley proposed that working memory might contain a fourth component, which he called the episodic buffer. This is a store that combines and integrates information from the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory. For example, this is where sensory information about the color and shape of a perceived object would be combined to form an integrated image of this object. **Prior knowledge** stored in working memory increases the **size of the chunks** that working memory can hold. Thus, more background training in a topic means you can hold more information in working memory.^[Oakley et al., 2021] Relatedly: [[Experts perceive larger perceptual units than novices]]. --- Created: [[2023-04-18]] Type: #permanent Topics: [[Learning (Index)]] Related notes: - [[Memory is the capacity to encode, store, and retrieve information]]