Working Memory, and Why You Shouldn't Cram!

Danielle Aylmer, Verrazano Class of 2019, Completed Major in Psychology BS

     While working on this research, I learned about memory. I’ve learned about memory in previous classes, but never in the way my research presented. I also learned about different theories on how working memory operates. 
     Our capacity limits (how much we can remember at one time) tend to be about three or four items. The fundamental debate is whether capacity limits are discrete or continuous. Discrete limits are either all or nothing, you remember a lot of things about certain items and none about other items. There are also different theories of how we store representations, continuously or categorically. If representations are stored continuously, when you saw the color red you would remember the specific hue of the color, not just that it was generically red. If they are stored categorically, you would just remember you saw red, not what shade of red. 
     I found my research to be extremely interesting. I ran experiments that PSY 100 students participated in. During these experiments, I was able to briefly present my research and theories and walk students through the experiment. While doing practice trials it was interesting to see the students response. We flashed an object on a screen for only milliseconds, and if you blinked you missed it. The students would tell me, "how can I recall that? I barely saw it." Yet they would still perform well. 
     It’s quite amazing that you can sometimes recall something rather accurately without even realizing you got a good look. If you are interested in doing research on working memory I recommend looking in to working with Professor Ricker. He was a great mentor and was extremely helpful while I was writing my thesis/capstone. 
     I feel this research could be important for students when studying, or professors trying to effectively present material to a class. In a classroom setting, if a teacher is presenting new mathematical concepts, they should only present three or four discrete elements for use at one time, even if the equations are simple. The observation of continuous capacity limits in this study showed that the precision of memories decreases as the number of items remembered increases. College students struggle with retaining information and finding the best way to study. They try to cram the night before an exam and my research helped me see why this does not work. The best way would be to try and digest a little bit of information each day. By doing this, you increase your chances of remembering the information. The observation of continuous capacity limits in this study show that the precision of memories decreases as the number of items remembered increases. It is also important to understand working memory because it is needed to problem solve, make decisions, and reason on a daily basis.