"Are you forgetting something today?" Memory failures often stem from issues retrieving information from long-term memory (LTM) rather than actual memory loss. Our brain processes memories through two systems: short-term (working) memory (WM), which acts like a mental notepad and serves as a gateway buffer to LTM, and LTM, which stores memories for longer periods. While we know attention plays a crucial role in WM performance by filtering what information gets stored, its role in LTM retrieval remains unclear. We conducted two behavioral experiments comparing how well people recall information from both memory systems under varying attentional demands. Using mixture modeling, we extracted mnemonic precision (SD) and guessing rate (g) parameters to distinguish between attentional and decision-making mechanisms. Our findings inform both memory research and educational practices.

Jonathan Hoyin Chan

Pornchai Mongkolnam