PSY 265 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Interference Theory, Saul Sternberg, Brute-Force Search
Document Summary
This is where comprehension occurs: short-term, working memory. A short-term working memory is the memory we are conscious of. Some mental processes, however, are not open to consciousness they are automatic. This is why short-term working memory is only roughly the same as consciousness. We are aware of its contents, but not necessarily the processes that occur in it. Modern research on short-term working memory came hard on the heels of selective attention studies of the mid-1950s. Short-term memory & working memory have different connotations. S-t conveys a simpler idea; it is the label used to focus on the input and storage of new information. We think of s-t when a rapidly presented series of digits is tested for immediate recall, or when we focus on the role of rehearsal. S-t is observed whenever short retention is tested no more than 15 or 20 seconds and when little, if any, transfer of new information to long-term memory is involved.
