Memory And Working Memory

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In the article “Memory’s Limit is Even Lower: 4 Things At Once”, author Clara Moskowitz says that researchers once debated that the conscious mind or working memory can only contain three to four items at one time. In fact, the working memory is just a section within the short-term memory that makes it easier to access information within the brain. The working memory also correlates with the knowledge that we can be aware of and control. Moskowitz states that scholars once believed that the working memory could only sustain about seven items, therefore giving some explanation to the fact that telephone numbers have seven numbers. However, nowadays scholars believe that the ideas that a working memory are much lower when the person is not …show more content…

Normally this would be a pretty difficult task, however, the runner associated the list of numbers with his running times. As a result, the runner was capable of remembering lists just under 80 numbers. Conversely, if the runner was asked to remember a list of words, the runner simply couldn’t do it. The runner could remember the same amount as a normal human, which is about five to nine words. A very difficult mathematical quiz has been put in place by scientists, said Cowan, to investigate the true limit on people’s working memories. This study has been built upon existing research, but includes a mathematical equation. This team of researchers accepted that humans have a certain number of empty spaces available for their working memories. This study suggests that once the working memory is filled, then the subject will start guessing. This equation was able to predict the outcomes with remarkable accuracy. The mathematical equation was simple and the answer was simple, said Cowan, but the different scenarios that were taken into effect and the array of information that was predicted was somewhat …show more content…

Therefore, having a good working memory can in turn make you a smarter person. The capabilities of the working memory have not been found to be directly related to genetics, education or environments, in fact, researchers are clueless when it comes to where the working memory comes from. Children can benefit significantly from practicing with their working memory because it has been proven that test scores and the overall quality of the student is improved. However, children are not the only ones that can benefit from the bettering their working memory, adults also can develop better working memories. According to Kane, training your working memory can increase additional things over time. In fact, Kane says that the relationship between the working memory and the attention of person is very significant. It has been disputed among scientists whether or not the working memory is a part of the long-term memory or the two memories are completely separate of one another. However, many scientists agree that all memories that are made are stored in the long-term memory. They also agree that forgetting memories is just simply not being capable of accessing that

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