ABSTRACT
In Chapter 4 we dealt with the retention of information in the short term. We saw that short-term memory includes conscious experience, but conscious experience involves more than just retaining information over time. Things we are conscious of are being thought about. This “thinking” implies an active processing or manipulating of information. For example, when you are thinking about how to get to a mall you have never been to before, you combine various bits of knowledge you already have: the layout of the city, information from a map, knowledge of traffic patterns in that area, and conversations with your friends about the location of the mall. By actively using this information, you can determine the best route to take. This involves the controlled use of information in shortterm memory. Because of the special nature of this kind of processing, this is referred to as working memory. The phrase short-term memory is reserved more for the brief retention of information. In fact, some researchers consider working memory and short-term memory to be different psychological constructs (e.g., Cantor, Engle, & Hamilton, 1991).
