The Mental Workbench
Torkel Klingberg · 2008
Abstract Sometimes our attention can be drawn automatically to certain changes in our surroundings. As for controlled attention, however, some kind of instruction is needed for where it is to be directed. If our intention is to direct and fix our attention onto a predetermined target, let us say a face in a crowd, we have to have some sort of memory of this target while we are searching for it. How do we remember what it is we are to concentrate on? The answer is working memory. The term refers to our ability to remember information for a limited period of time, usually a matter of seconds. To all appearance it might seem a simple function, but it is fundamental and vital to numerous mental tasks, from attention control to solving logical problems.