WME key terms

A component of working memory that briefly stores verbal information as sound-based traces and refreshes them through silent rehearsal, supporting immediate recall of spoken or written words.

The process of silently repeating verbal material to keep it active in the phonological loop, extending how long it can be recalled before decay.

The finding that lists of items with similar sounds (e.g., cat, hat, mat) are recalled less accurately than acoustically distinct lists, because similar traces interfere in the phonological store.

The observation that shorter words are recalled better than longer words in immediate serial recall, explained by the time needed for rehearsal: longer words take longer to rehearse and decay more.

A task in which participants repeatedly speak an irrelevant sound (e.g., 'the the the') while trying to remember items; it blocks rehearsal and reduces the phonological similarity and word length effects.

The disruption of immediate serial recall by background sound, especially speech or changing tones, even when the sound is ignored; it is larger for changing-state sounds than for steady noise.

The greater disruption of serial recall produced by a sequence of varying sounds compared with a repeated identical sound, suggesting that order information is vulnerable to changing acoustic input.

The finding that adding an irrelevant spoken word (a suffix) to the end of a to-be-remembered list reduces recall of the final items, because the suffix gains access to the phonological store and overwrites the recency portion.

The advantage in recall for the last few items of a list, especially when recall is immediate; it is reduced by a filled delay or a suffix.

The recall advantage for the first few items of a list, reflecting greater rehearsal and transfer to long-term memory; it is less affected by delay than the recency effect.

A graph plotting recall accuracy against each item's position in a list, typically showing high recall for early items (primacy) and late items (recency) and lower recall for middle items.

The maximum number of digits a person can repeat back immediately in the correct order; forward digit span is typically about seven plus or minus two, and backward digit span is shorter.

A task in which participants reproduce a sequence of items in the exact order immediately after presentation, without a delay; it is a core measure of short-term memory.

A memory test in which participants recall as many items as possible in any order, without being cued by the original sequence; performance typically shows primacy and recency effects.

A memory test in which participants are given a prompt or hint (e.g., a category or first letter) to help retrieve previously studied items, making it easier than free recall.

The ability to judge whether an item was previously encountered, often tested with yes/no or forced-choice formats; it can be based on familiarity or recollection.

A fast, general sense that an item has been seen before, without retrieval of specific contextual details; it supports recognition when recollection is weak.

The retrieval of specific details about a prior experience, such as where or when an item was encountered; it is slower and more effortful than familiarity.

A memory test in which participants reproduce previously learned material after a delay (e.g., minutes or longer), often without reminders; it is more sensitive to forgetting and amnesia than immediate recall.

A memory test in which participants reproduce material right after presentation, with little or no delay; it relies heavily on short-term or working memory.

A graph showing that retention of learned material drops steeply soon after learning and then levels off over time; first described by Ebbinghaus.

The time between the end of learning and the start of a memory test; longer intervals generally produce more forgetting, especially in delayed recall tasks.

Disruption of memory for new material caused by previously learned material; for example, an earlier list of words makes learning a second list harder.

Disruption of memory for previously learned material caused by subsequently learned material; for example, learning a new list makes recall of an older list worse.

The view that forgetting occurs mainly because competing memories interfere with one another, rather than simply because memory traces decay with time.

The limited amount of information that can be actively maintained and manipulated in working memory at one time; often measured by complex span tasks.

A working memory task in which to-be-remembered items are interleaved with a processing task (e.g., reading sentences or solving equations), so storage and processing compete for capacity.

A complex span task in which participants solve simple arithmetic problems while remembering a list of words or letters; the number of items recalled in order indexes working memory capacity.

A continuous working memory task in which participants judge whether the current item matches the one presented n trials earlier (e.g., 2-back); it requires updating and maintaining information.

A working memory process that involves monitoring incoming information and replacing outdated content with newer relevant content, as required in tasks like n-back.

A component of working memory that temporarily holds visual and spatial information, such as shapes, locations, and mental images, separate from verbal content.

The limited-capacity system that actively maintains visual information (e.g., colors, shapes) over short delays for use in ongoing tasks; capacity is often estimated at about three to four objects.

A visual working memory procedure in which participants view a brief array of objects, then after a delay see a second array and report whether any object changed; accuracy estimates capacity.

A formula-based estimate of the number of items held in visual working memory, calculated from change-detection accuracy and false-alarm rates; values typically around three to four items.

The cognitive process of imagining an object turning in space; it is used to study visuospatial processing and relies on visual working memory.

The ability to remember visual information such as shapes, colors, patterns, and scenes over time, distinct from memory for spatial locations or verbal material.

Memory for locations and spatial relationships, such as where objects are in an environment or on a screen; it supports navigation and visuospatial tasks.

The ability to retain and recall sound-based information, including spoken words, tones, and environmental sounds, over short or long intervals.