Current controversies in the cognitive science of short-term memory

Abstract

Short-term memory is critically implicated in most human cognitive capacities and has been the object of study for more than a century, yet many questions remain unsettled and new controversies have emerged. This paper provides an overview of some current debates within the field. These include (i) the issue of how many short-term memory systems there are, (ii) whether working memory is best understood as having domain-specific resources, (iii) how information is encoded in working memory, (iv) how sensory memory and working memory are related to attention, and (v) the relationship between short-term memory and consciousness.