ABSTRACT
Digit span is included in the most widely used intelligence test, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The digit span test is typically referred to as reflecting short-term memory (STM), and the more complex task as working memory span. The memory system or systems responsible for STM do however form part of the working memory system. The assumption that recency simply reflects the output of a short-term store was subsequently challenged by the demonstration that recency effects can occur under conditions in which the short-term trace ought to have been disrupted. Visual STM appears to benefit from an active attempt to maintain an item in the focus of attention. The phonological loop is assumed to have two subcomponents, a short-term store and an articulatory rehearsal process. The store is assumed to be limited in capacity, with items registered as memory traces that decay within a few seconds.
