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Working Memory

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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science
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Synonyms

Immediate or intermediate recall of processed information

Definition

A cognitive system responsible for storing and manipulating information, for a short time period, for the completion of an action, such as a mathematical problem (mental action) or following the correct process on a recipe you just heard (physical action).

Introduction

Working memory, an evidence supported theoretical construct, is defined as the cognitive system responsible for storing and manipulating information, for a short time period, for the completion of an action. For example, a child’s good working memory system would hold a mathematical problem, read by the teacher in the classroom, process the solution, and come up with the correct answer (mental action). In another example, somebody gives you a phone number that you have to remember until you reach your calling device and dial that number. Psychologists devised numerous psychometric tests to assess working memory. “Digit Span” is a working memory...

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Correspondence to Marios Constantinou .

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© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Constantinou, M. (2019). Working Memory. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1104-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1104-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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