The Relationship Between Short-Term Memory and Working Memory - Essay Example

Short-Term Memory and Working Memory Affiliation: The Relationship between Short-Term Memory and Working Memory Memory is a fundamental factor in the growth and development of an individual. The day to day activities in life are characterized by many, diverse, and dynamic undertakings, all of which exhibit heavy reliance on personal memory. This process works on the basis of receiving, storing, and retaining information for varying periods of time. Such periods of time can be temporary or permanent, but the common denominator is that memory plays a vital role in both cases. Notably, brain functionality in this case encompasses short-term, working, and long term memories. This paper will discuss short-term and working memory in terms of the underlying relationship between the two. Short-term Memory A cognitive system that allows an individual to undertake his/her daily activities is best described by short-term memory (Kolb & Wishaw, 2009). Everyday conversations hold up as examples in this case. Reception, storage, and maintenance of information under the short-term memory factor are brief. This means that information can only be held for a short period, after which the information is either discarded or forgotten depending on the cognitive process in play at the time. The implication of this memory is that people can only hold information and retain data up to a given level, which in most cases relate to the task at hand. In other words, short-term memory exhibits a limited capacity, brief information holding, and discarding and/or forgetting what is held in that memory (Cowan, 2008). The memory span of an adult relative to short-term memory is approximated at seven unrelated items from a possible five to nine items (Miller, 1956). This capacity varies across individuals, and it notably starts to decline after it hits its maximum in adulthood. Short-term memory is influenced by a number of factors, all of which determine the underlying memory capacity. These influential factors include rehearsal, attention to detail, interference, and prior knowledge relative to the information handled at a given point in time (Gathercole, 2001). Ultimately, these aspects affect, in one way or another, the underlying cognitive outcomes. Working Memory Working memory is defined as a capacity system that is limited in nature, which enables temporary storage and manipulation of information as people perform their everyday tasks (Baddeley, 2003). The capacity factor in the definition of working memory brings short-term memory into focus. Short-term memory dynamics prompted an insightful examination of working memory by cognitive psychologists. In this case, the ultimate concern is the connection between short-term and working memory. Based on the definition of working memory provided above, it appears that working memory operationalizes cognitive work undertaken within and across short-term memory. The ability and capacity to listen, reason, make decisions, and solve problems inform the manner in which individuals perform different cognitive works. All the processes therein are dependent on short-term memory and how working memory operationalizes all the activities involved. The functionality of short-term memory is described by the properties attributed to that memory. On the other hand, working memory subsystems provide the basis upon which working memory mechanisms explain the short-term memory properties. The working memory system is divided into four subsystems, namely: phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer, and central executive (Baddeley, 2000). These subsystems are clearly shown in the figure below: Source: Baddeley, 2000. The Short-term Memory and Working Memory Relationship Discussed Each of the four aforementioned subsystems of working memory enhances the explanation of the relationship between short-term and working memory. This explanation is essentially drawn from the properties exhibited by short-term memory, with regard to how working memory informs each of those properties. The first identified subsystem is the phonological loop. This subsystem encompasses information conveyance through sounds. Being a primary means of conveying information, sound is essentially a key code of short-term memory (Kolb & Wishaw, 2009). Temporary storage of information that is of phonological nature is handled by the short-term memory. However, this sound-based aspect of information conveyance is best described by the phonological loop. Information can be received, stored, and maintained vocally and/or sub-vocally. The storage is controlled through an articulatory process that differentiates short-term memory from working memory. In other words, the articulatory control process marks the line of relationship between short-term and working memory. When the information to be remembered is in the form of a picture, dance, or even in an imaginative figure, the mobilization of cognitive processes that enhance the performance of such actions rely on the visuospatial sketchpad subsystem of the working memory (Baddeley, 2003). The storage of information that is presented visually is, therefore, aided by visuospatial sketchpad. The basis upon which short-term memory operates is critically provided for by this subsystem. In order to store and successfully retrieve temporary information from the short-term memory, there must be an aspect that enhances the storage of that information temporarily. In this case, visuospatial sketchpad serves the purpose by acting as the structural component that aids the practice of short-term memory. Conversation engagements among people comprise of talks, responses, and counter responses that are deeply rooted in both short-term and working memories. Conversations create progressive episodes that people to engage one another in one way or another. The coherence of these conversational episodes is provided for by the episodic buffer, an integrative system that aligns phonological and visuospatial sketchpad events with the underlying memories (Baddeley, 2000). Given that short-term memories inform the day to day activities performed by people, the episodic buffer serves as a vital tool through which the entire process is realized. All the activities that relate to visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, and episodic buffer are coordinated through the central executive subsystem of working memory (Baddeley, 2000). In other words, the central executive serves as the control system in the entire working memory system. The underlying cognitive processes, works, actions, and activities are controlled by this subsystem. Therefore, central executive maximizes the performance of short-term memory. This line of relationship creates and area of interaction and relationship between short-term and working memory. Further, numerous typical findings relative to short-term memory have been found to explain the relationship between short-term memory and working memory, among them: phonological confusions, word-length effect, and irrelevant speech effect (Colom, et al. 2006b). The process of remembering items that exhibit the same or different sounds triggers sound-based confusions, hereby referred to as phonological confusions. Items that sound alike are associated with a smaller short-term memory span when an individual tries to remember those items. On the other hand, items with different sounds are associated with a higher short-term memory span in the same regard. The sound factor in phonological confusions brings working memory into focus. Specifically, the presence of phonological codes in similar or different item sounds allows the articulatory control process to inform rehearsal of phonological codes and the central executive to transfer visual items’ copies to the phonological loop (Cowan, 2008). This process explains the relationship point between short-term and working memory. Word memorization is critically affected by the length of the word in question; word-length effect. Longer words are difficult to memorize or remember, and the opposite is true. In other words, memorization of lengthy words is associated with a decreasing short-term memory span, while memorization of shorter words is associated with an increasing short-term memory span (Gathercole, 2001). Syllables and pronunciation time increase with an increase in word length, and vice versa. Given that syllables carry communicative sounds, the articulatory control process comes in handy in explaining the word-length effect of short-term memory. Information reception, storage, and maintenance are highly influenced by background conversations at the time information is being absorbed; say when reading or studying. Speech and/or music in the background affect memorization or the extent to which an individual can remember what he/she has read or studied. This phenomenon is referred to as irrelevant speech effect. Even without paying attention to the details taking place in the background, speech sounds clash with text sounds and subsequently affect the performance of short-term memory. When this happens, the phonological loop outperforms the articulatory control process and results in some form of dysfunction in the working memory. In conclusion, the above discussion shows that there is a thin line between short-term and working memory. The two types of memory exhibit an aspect of interdependence that allows them to function on the basis of their interconnectedness. The working memory provides a structural platform through which short-term memory performs its purpose. The properties exhibited by short-term memory are also explained through the working memory system. This essentially shows that the functionality of each of the two is built on the other. In the process, the relationship between short-term and working memory is drawn. References Baddeley, A. (2000). “The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory?” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 417–423. Baddeley, A. (2003). “Working memory: looking back and looking forward”. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 4, 829–839. Colom, R., et al. (2006b). “The real relationship between short-term memory and working memory”. Memory, 14, 804–813. Cowan, N. (2008). “What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory?” Progress in Brain Research, 169, 323–338. Gathercole, S. E. (2001). Short-Term and Working Memory. London: Psychology Press. Kolb, B. & Wishaw, I. Q. (2009). Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology. New York: Worth Publishers. Miller, G. A. (1956). “The magical number seven plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information”. Psychological Review, 63, 81–97. Read More