Working Memory

The term working memory refers to a limited amount of information that is very easily kept in mind temporarily and is used to carry out mental tasks such as comprehending or producing language, solving problems, and making decisions. It has been important to understand working memory through research because of the key role of working memory in human cognition. For example, in language comprehension, one must keep in mind the sequence of words until a sentence makes sense. If one does not remember that a speaker said “The man hoped the box …,” then when the sentence is completed by “… contained his missing tools,” that second part of the sentence will not make sense. The working memory load is often increased by ambiguity or ...