Working memory vs short-term memory

Short-term memory usually refers to holding a small amount of information for a short time, such as a number you have just been told. Working memory is a broader idea: holding information in mind while you do something with it, such as reversing a sequence or doing mental arithmetic.

Many researchers treat short-term storage as one part of working memory rather than a separate system. In everyday language the terms are often used interchangeably, but in research the distinction affects which tasks are used and what their results mean.

In 1968, Atkinson and Shiffrin described a short-term store as a stage between incoming sensory information and long-term memory. Their model treated it mainly as a temporary holding area.

In 1974, Baddeley and Hitch proposed working memory as a system with separate parts: a phonological loop for speech-based information, a visuospatial sketchpad for images and locations, and a central executive that directs attention between them. Baddeley later added an episodic buffer, which links these components with long-term memory.

Span tasks ask you to repeat items in order, with the sequence growing until you make errors. Forward digit span and the Corsi block-tapping test are classic examples of short-term span: one for spoken digits, one for locations.

Working memory tasks add processing. Backward span asks you to report the sequence in reverse. Complex span tasks interleave remembering with another task, such as checking simple equations between letters to remember.

Object Archive asks you to hold objects and their locations, which draws on visuospatial storage. Signal Sequence asks for spatial order, much like the Corsi task. The Briefing asks you to keep a note in mind while you do two other exercises, so it also involves longer-term memory.

Practising any of these usually makes you better at that task. That is useful to see, but it is not evidence of a general change in memory, which is discussed in the note on brain training.

1. Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 2, 89–195. doi:10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60422-3
2. Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 8, 47–89. doi:10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60452-1
3. Baddeley, A. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417–423. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01538-2
4. Cowan, N. (2008). What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory? Progress in Brain Research, 169, 323–338. doi:10.1016/S0079-6123(07)00020-9

These notes summarise published research for general readers. They are not medical advice.

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