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Psychology vocabulary · Cognition and Perception

Working memory

Meaning in psychology, with examples

nounCommon term

In psychology, working memory means: The limited system that holds information for a few seconds and works with it while we use it, for example keeping a phone number in mind while dialling.

In Turkish: çalışma belleği, işler bellek

How it is used

Comes from the model of Baddeley and Hitch (1974). Researchers measure working memory capacity with tasks such as digit span and n-back, and link it to reasoning, reading and attention problems.

Example sentences

  1. Mental arithmetic places heavy demands on working memory.

  2. Children with ADHD often score lower on working memory tasks.

Common collocations

  • working memory capacity
  • working memory task
  • load on working memory
  • verbal working memory
  • memoryThe ability to take in, store and later recall information and experiences; the word can also mean one particular thing that is remembered.
  • attentionThe ability to focus mental resources on some information while ignoring the rest, for example following one conversation in a noisy room.
  • executive functionA set of higher mental skills, such as planning, holding back impulses, switching between tasks and updating working memory, that let us control and organise behaviour towards goals.
  • cognitionThe mental processes we use to gain and use knowledge, such as thinking, remembering, paying attention, understanding language and solving problems.

More terms: Cognition and Perception

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