Types of Short Term Memory

When you receive new information your brain has a few choices of what it can do with it. You may need to make use of the information immediately, or you may need to store it for future use. How you process that information immediately is the job of your short term memory. You have two types of short term memory and each has its own role in processing new information.

Short Term Memory

• Your short term memory, like a receptionist, receives information and assigns it accordingly.

  Your have short term memory and working memory. The primary function of your short term memory is to sift through the information you receive as you receive it. Rather like a gatekeeper, or a receptionist, your short term memory receives information, decides what to do with it and whether to assign the information to your long term memory -- or to discard it. This assigning process does not happen immediately, as information can remain in your brain for a few minutes or a few weeks before it is assigned to its final resting place. It is usually an exercise of will that keeps the information in your brain for a few weeks, and it is usually information that is new, interesting and something that you know you will need to recall in the future that you will keep accessible in your short term memory.

Working Memory

• Your working memory engages to remember a telephone number you have just been given.

  When you receive new information, the short term memory does the initial sifting and then it is the function of the working memory to decide what should become of that information. The primary function of the working memory is to store, use or move the information for use immediately or in the future. If you are introduced to someone, your working memory will spring into action to enable you to remember the person's name should you be required to introduce him to someone else. If it is a new colleague or manager, you would want to assign that information to your long term memory. However, if it is a casual acquaintance at a social function, you may only need to remember that information for the evening. Another example would be remembering a telephone number long enough to be able to make a telephone call. Your attention span is a reflection of your working memory, and it requires effort to engage your working memory and put it to best use.

Short Term Memory and Your Brain

• The activity of each type of short term memory takes place in different parts of your brain.

  With your short term memory, your brain receives information and stores it in the medial lobe. With the working memory, activity takes place in the frontal lobe of your brain.