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According to information processing theory, the mind is composed of three mental stores: sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory. From early infancy through late adulthood, information moves through these three stores, and we use them to manipulate and store information (see Figure 5.5).

Sensory memory is the first step in getting information into the mind; it holds incoming sensory information in its original form. For example, look at this page, then close your eyes. Did you “see” the page for a fraction of a second after you closed your eyes? That image, or icon, represents your sensory memory. Information fades from sensory memory quickly if it is not processed, even as quickly as fractions of a second. Newborn infants display sensory memory, but it is much shorter in duration than adults’ memory (Cheour et al., 2002).

A great deal of information is taken in and rapidly moves through sensory memory. Not surprisingly, much of it is discarded. When we direct our attention to information, however, it passes to the next part of the information processing system, working memory.

Working memory holds and processes information that is being “worked on” in some way. Working memory consists of at least three components: a short-term store, a processing component, and a control mechanism (Baddeley, 2016). Just as your thoughts are constantly changing, so are the contents of working memory. We can hold only so much information in working memory, and we can hold it for only so long. Indeed, a core assumption of the information processing approach is the idea of limited capacity (Bjorklund & Myers, 2015; Oberauer, Farrell, Jarrold, & Lewandowsky, 2016). With development, we get better at retaining information in working memory and use it in more efficient ways.

Working memory is responsible for manipulating (considering, comprehending), encoding (transforming into a memory), and retrieving (recalling) information. All of your thoughts—that is, all conscious mental activities—occur within working memory. For example, reading this paragraph, remembering assignments, and considering how this material applies to your own experience taps your working memory.

An important part of working memory is the central executive, a control mechanism or processor that directs the flow of information and regulates cognitive activities such as attention, action, and problem solving (Just & Carpenter, 1992). The central executive determines what is important to attend to, combines new information with information already in working memory, and selects and applies strategies for manipulating the information in order to understand it, make decisions, and solve problems (Baddeley, 2012). Collectively, these cognitive activities are known as executive function.

As information is manipulated in working memory, it becomes more likely that it will enter long-term memory, the third mental store. Long-term memory is an unlimited store that holds information indefinitely. Information is not manipulated or processed in long-term memory; it is simply stored until it is retrieved to manipulate in working memory (e.g., in remembering events and thinking about them). As we develop, we amass a great deal of information in long-term memory, organize it in increasingly sophisticated ways, and encode and retrieve it more efficiently and with less effort.

We are born with the ability to take in, store, and manipulate information through our sensory, working, and long-term memory. The structure of the information processing system remains the same throughout the lifespan. With development, we get better at moving information through our cognitive system in ways that allow us to adapt to our world. We can process more information, retain more information, and do so more quickly and efficiently.