What Is Working Memory?

Processing information is crucial for completing tasks, and that’s where we all use our working memory. This is a brain system whose main focus is to store and also manipulate information temporarily. While some might think it’s similar to short term memory, that’s not the case. For short term memory, information is stored and recalled too, but it’s not manipulated. The role of working memory is to help manipulate that information with great success.

What is working memory? 

Working memory makes it easy for you to maintain information for just a few seconds, so you can use it for adequate info processing. This is a temporary storage system that our brain uses for daily tasks. Organization, reading comprehension and conversations all rely on our working memory. As we said above, working memory manipulates and transforms information, which is not the same for short term memory. 

Why is working memory important?

The main role for the working memory is to help us put together information we are actively acquiring, and then we use it with the long term memory. Whenever we are studying or learning new things, we are harnessing the power of the working memory so it manages to keep all the info active. This way we can organize tasks, solve problems and also enhance our focus. Generally, working memory is very important when it comes to academic performance. It’s also a major part of executive functioning. 

What parts of the brain are responsible for working memory? 

The prefrontal cortex is the one that manages and harnesses our working memory. Boosting the power of our prefrontal cortex is crucial if we want to have a powerful working memory and accumulate information faster. Needless to say, working memory is crucial whenever we want to learn something and ensure that all the information is easy to remember.

What is working memory from a psychological perspective?

Psychology sees our working memory as a small amount of info that we can keep in our mind. This is used to execute various cognitive tasks. This is a very popular and common term in psychology, and it does involve a multitude of distinctive tasks as well. The working memory is what helps lay the foundation for our many cognitive controls. If we want to better understand cognition, then we must decode the working memory and assess how it works. 

What is working memory from a neuropsychological perspective? 

From a neuropsychology standpoint, the working memory is an ability to keep and also manipulate information within a few seconds. While the storage capacity for our working memory is limited, that doesn’t mean it stays the same all the time. We can work on expanding it, and training is a great way to achieve these goals. There’s a lot we don’t know about the human brain and cognition, but what we do know is that working memory connects with many cognitive systems in order to work properly. We can harness that information and use it to our advantage.

Summary

One thing is certain, our working memory plays a major role when it comes to processing information and remembering things in the short term. However, our working memory can be enhanced with the right type of training and that can lead to amazing results. Not only do we get to accumulate information faster, but we also get to remember it a lot easier. That’s why we need to try and enhance our working memory as much as we can. Here are some working memory strategies.

Read more blog posts:

• Working Memory Short Term Memory Strategies
• 3 Tips For Brainstorming The Right Way
• How Can Mindfulness Improve Executive Function Skills?

Handouts:

• What is Executive Functioning?
• 4 Types of Attentional Focus
• Strategic Observation And Reflection (SOAR)
• 13 Executive Function Skills for Academic Success
• Working Memory Strategies

⏩What Is Working Memory?⏪