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Working Memory Deficit
Understanding how working memory impacts learning and intelligence, and examples of working memory in real life.
How a Working Memory Deficit Impacts Learning
Working memory is the engine behind almost every aspect of learning.
Working memory is the brain’s ability to temporarily hold and process information gathered while listening, reading, or thinking, for immediate use.
Importantly, working memory is active, not static.
Capturing information into working memory has been compared to recording a movie – audio and visual. Learners need to capture the information, then play it back in their minds while trying to incorporate prior knowledge or new information.
It’s a complex cognitive process with many points of failure: inaccurate reading or listening, limited working memory capacity, or difficulty manipulating the information.
A working memory deficit refers to a limited ability to hold and use information, which affects:
- Comprehension – if you forget what you read or hear as you go, comprehension is a challenge
- Attention – if you are not taking in the material, it’s not engaging
- Executive function – if you are not able to absorb and react to new information, you can quickly lose track
- Reasoning – logic is sequential, requiring prior information to be held in working memory
- Problem-solving – recognizing patterns and problem-solving both require dexterity in manipulating data in your mind
Some describe working memory as a work table (as opposed to the longer-term memory filing cabinet). It’s a place where you hold and use the information you need.
Because working memory is a background skill, symptoms of difficulties can be hard to identify. If your child exhibits any of the symptoms below, seek help — the gains from better working memory function can be significant.
More on our cognitive training for working memory here
Working Memory and Learning
Here are some examples of how working memory impacts your child’s learning:
- Making sense of new information in class. If your child can’t take in new information or a new concept and compare it to prior knowledge, understanding is impacted. Or if the lesson requires following the teacher’s multi-step logic, a child with a working memory deficit will get lost.
- Reading comprehension. Understanding the text requires decoding the words and then thinking while reading, all the while holding the words in working memory.
- Attentiveness in listening and reading. The ability to take in new information and to think about it – compare it to prior knowledge or consider the implications – is what makes listening and reading interesting. If the ability to do anything with the information is compromised, it’s not interesting, and so inattentiveness is inevitable.
- Executive functioning. Working memory skills help you stay organized; they help you plan ahead, and they allow for cognitive flexibility, i.e., being able to take in new information, compare it to existing information, and recognize a new course of action is needed.
- Learning math or science or… Any concept that requires the learner to absorb and hold multiple steps to fully understand it is going to be a challenge for a child with a working memory deficit. That applies even more directly to concepts that are active, where variables change outcomes, as is the case in math and science.
- Test-taking. Multiple-choice tests require reading the question and then actively matching each response option to the question, often juggling between two possible answers.
- Following instructions. This is considered the classic sign of poor working memory: the inability to take in and retain multi-step instructions.
Working memory has to function as an auditory skill and a visual skill. A working memory deficit can be confined to one and not the other.
Working Memory and Intelligence
Intelligence is fixed, of course. But a person who can hold a lot of information in mind and manipulate it is going to be able to think logically, think creatively, and generally display traits of higher intelligence.
Einstein developed his theory of relativity using thought experiments. His ability to juggle multiple concepts simultaneously in working memory was a source of his genius. He was able to hold a number of complex propositions in mind at the same time and was able to run scenarios, the equivalent of watching 3-4 movies at once and seeing the implications of different plot twists.
More on working memory and IQ here.
Working Memory Is a Cognitive Skill That Can Be Trained
The brain is like a muscle. It can be exercised. The challenge always is that learning is integrated, meaning one cognitive skill gap can undermine a number of other abilities. Working memory is described as “the invisible engine of learning” for precisely this reason. It underlies a wide range of learning difficulties and diagnoses.
For that reason, learning science has focused on finding ways to exercise working memory for years.
Gemm Learning provides two of the best in-class cognitive training programs for working memory on the planet: Fast ForWord software and Cogmed Working Memory Training.
Read more about our working memory programs here.
If you suspect your child has a working memory deficit, complete our free learning screening of behaviors and risk factors, and we’ll send our findings.
“First, we noticed that he was participating in family conversations when he used to tune out because it was too hard to follow and he was picking up on subtleties in a way he never did before. But now, after your summer program, he has made stronger gains than he made in three years of special ed classes. This is a dream come true for us.”
Appendix: Working Memory Definition
Working memory enables us to keep several pieces of information active while we try to do something with them. It is not short-term memory with information you retrieve and use. It is active information that stays in mind, can be compared, sequenced, and manipulated in other ways, and used to think. A working memory deficit impacts our ability to think about what we are hearing or reading, and therefore, it impacts performance in academic, professional, and social settings.
Working memory is not like a computer’s RAM; there is no separate place where the information temporarily resides. It activates information in the brain where it exists. Therefore, this is a different memory type to short and long-term memory, which is in the medial temporal lobe.
How Working Memory Functions
Dr. Mark D’Esposito, from UC Berkeley, describes working memory as being quite purposeful. We hold all these pieces of information together to solve a problem or carry out a task.
Working memory is a temporary workspace in the brain, “the blackboard of the mind” (Just and Carpenter) that allows for the processing of moment-to-moment information, archived information, and a link between them both before storing new knowledge in long-term memory. It is linked to:
- Arithmetic skill (think “carrying” a number in complex addition)
- Reading ability (holding previous words in the sentence in memory while you sound out the next one)
- Verbal fluency (considering the impact of your word choice before or while you speak a sentence)
- Problem-solving and adapting (redirecting your workflow to pursue a different course if you are not succeeding, and speeding up or slowing down your work speed to finish on time)
- Possibly ADHD (ability to integrate some past instructions with current stimuli deemed important, while ignoring other stimuli and information deemed unimportant)
FAQ on Working Memory
Is working memory linked to IQ?
Yes. Working memory is correlated with fluid reasoning, so weak working memory can make a bright student appear average. Einstein had a massive working memory, enabling him to hold, compare, and contrast multiple concepts at once. Improved working memory helps with test-taking – holding the question and answer at the same time – which can be interpreted as the child being smarter. Biologically, this is not true, but it is true that the child is performing closer to their full potential.
Could this be ADHD, or is it something else?
Not likely. ADHD and working memory are causally related. A working memory deficit is a common cause of ADHD symptoms. That’s because when working memory becomes overloaded, the student starts to miss things and has to work doubly hard to keep up. This eventually leads to exhaustion, vulnerability to distractions, and an ADHD diagnosis.
Will my child outgrow this as their brain develops?
The brain is constantly changing. However, by age 7, most language processing skills are formed. If a child has a working memory deficit after that age, it means their brain is not receiving enough stimulation from the world around them, and cognitive training is advisable.
Why can my child remember complex game rules but forget simple directions?
Memory Types
A number of different memory types are required for learning. Some memory difficulties are akin to a lack of RAM in a computer, while others are more like a glitch in a hard drive, in storage, or in the “memory banks.”
Involuntary and Voluntary Memory
Involuntary and voluntary memory are as described — remembering something intentionally or not. An example of involuntary memory is when your child learns about numbers while playing cards. Voluntary memory is test preparation or remembering a name.
Prospective and Retrospective Memory
Prospective refers to memory of events, appointments, and things to come, while retrospective memory relates to the past.
Nonverbal and Verbal Memory
Nonverbal memory is the ability to remember something without verbal expression, such as an appointment. In contrast, verbal memory is the ability to recall something and express it verbally, as in learning a poem to recite.
Sensory Modality-Specific Memory
Sensory modality-specific memory involves recalling information associated with a specific sensory stimulus.
Sensory Long-Term and Short-Term Storage Systems
There are three categories based on time. Sensory storage is related to an immediate sensation. Long-term memory is stored for years, while short-term memory can hold more complex information for only a few minutes.
Working Memory
Working memory is a less obvious, yet significant, contributor to learning. A working memory deficit limits the mental process of holding information in a short-term, readily accessible, easily manipulated form where it can be combined, rearranged and stored more productively.
Deep Understanding & Working Memory
According to academic John Hattie, deep understanding flows out of “surface knowledge” and is required before meaningful critical thinking skills can be practiced and learned. It’s an important step toward self-directed, higher-order thinking and learning.
Building deep understanding requires active engagement: asking questions, exploring freely, making mistakes, and having time to think. This is also where working memory becomes crucial.
Deep understanding requires holding, comparing and contrasting several ideas in mind at the same time. The perspective you get from comparing ideas and testing them against prior knowledge is a key part of deep understanding.
Read more on deep understanding here.
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Working Memory Research Timeline
| Year | Key Study |
|---|---|
| 1974 | Baddeley & Hitch – Working Memory Model: Introduced the phonological loop, visuospatial sketch-pad and central executive. [oai_citation:0‡sciencedirect.com](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079742108604521) |
| 1986 | < model expansion of Baddeley’s model to include broader learning & comprehension implications (see summary at TheMantic Education summary). [oai_citation:1‡Themantic Education](https://www.themantic-education.com/ibpsych/2023/07/16/the-working-memory-model-baddeley-and-hitch-1974-a-simple-summary/) |
| 1994 | St Clair-Thompson & Gathercole – Working memory and academic attainment: Working memory shown to predict curriculum outcomes in maths & English at age 11. [oai_citation:2‡PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2729141/) |
| 2004 | Kane & Engle – Working memory and fluid intelligence: Demonstrated strong links between working memory capacity and reasoning/ fluid intelligence. (See meta-reviews) [oai_citation:3‡thesnipermind.com](https://www.thesnipermind.com/images/Studies-PDF-Format/AllowayCopello_Oz2013.pdf) |
| 2010 | Alloway et al. – Working memory vs IQ in academic attainment: Demonstrated working memory as a stronger predictor of school success than IQ. [oai_citation:5‡PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20018296/) |
| 2012 | Diamond – Working memory as core executive function: Identified working memory’s role in attention control and readiness to learn. [oai_citation:6‡thesnipermind.com](https://www.thesnipermind.com/images/Studies-PDF-Format/AllowayCopello_Oz2013.pdf) |
| 2019 | Peng et al. Meta-analysis – Working memory deficits & reading comprehension difficulties. [oai_citation:7‡PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5881171/) |
| 2021 | Cowan – Updated working memory theory: capacity & attention as manager. [oai_citation:8‡Stir Academic Repository](https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/1005/1/Alloway_EJPA.pdf) |
The Data Behind This Chart
- Reading Comprehension (r = .29)
Peng, P. et al. (2018).
A Meta-Analysis on the Relation Between Reading and Working Memory
- Math Problem Solving (r = .28)
Ji, X.R. et al. (2023).
Working Memory and Mathematical Problem Solving: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis - Literacy Achievement (r = .36)
Cameron, C.E. et al. (2014).
Working Memory and Achievement in Elementary School
- Numeracy Achievement (r = .32)
Cameron, C.E. et al. (2014).
Working Memory and Achievement in Elementary School