Keeping information in use
Explore how information can be held and worked with during a task.
The picture in words
- Holding
- Keep relevant information available briefly.
- Working
- Use or transform that information.
- Task demands
- Several simultaneous demands compete for limited capacity.
Reading the illustration
Use the workbench as a metaphor for information kept available while a task is underway. Holding the amounts and combining them place different demands on the task.
Try a question
How does mentally working out a shopping total involve more than holding a number?
Show the explanation
You retain amounts while adding or comparing them. The task combines keeping information available with using it.
Read the sources
- Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/8-1-how-memory-functionsSelected rendered passages: Retrieval subsection; working-memory subsection.