A Brief Review of Frequent Misconceptions about Working Memory

Working memory is one of the central components of cognition. This system has a fundamental role in the function of a vast variety of cognitive performances and it is of particular interest to researchers of many disciplines. There are numerous publications on the nature and characteristics of the working memory system. However, in spite of numerous works, frequent misconceptions about working memory can be found in the literature. The focus of this article was to identify and categorize these misconceptions. To this end, the literature of psychology and related scientific fields was reviewed. Five major types of misconceptions have been identified. These misconceptions are then separately described and discussed. Considerations for future research are briefly outlined.

Keywords:

working memory , short term memory , misconception , misuse.