From Perception to Working Memory to Long-Term Memory

Memory starts with an initial perception as you are paying attention
to something, whether your attention is barely registering the perception
or you are really focused on it. So, as described in Chapter 5,
one of the keys to improving your memory is paying more attention
in the first place.
The next stop is your working memory, which is your brief, initial
memory of whatever you are currently processing. A part of this
working memory acts as a central processor or coordinator to organize
your current mental activities.11 You might think of the process
as having a screen on your computer that has the information you
are currently reading or writing. As psychologist Margaret Matlin
explains it, your ‘‘working memory lets you keep information active
and accessible, so that you can use it in a wide variety of cognitive
tasks.’’12 Your working memory decides what type of information is
useful to you now, drawing this out from the very large amount of
information you have—in your long-term memory or from the input
you have recently received. Think of yourself sitting in front of a
desk with expansive drawers representing what’s in your long-term
memory and a cluttered top of your desk representing what’s in your
working memory. Then, you as the central executive (the working
memory) decide what information you want to deal with now and
what to do with it. 17