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Is working memory a gateway to long-term memory?
Lea M Bartsch1, Alessandra S Souza2, Eda Mizrak3
1Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, University of Zurich.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|December 1, 2025
Summary
Working memory (WM) capacity rarely limits long-term memory (LTM) formation. Experiments show increased WM load typically does not impair LTM encoding, challenging the gateway hypothesis.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Memory Research
Background:
- The working memory (WM) system is theorized to be a gateway for information entering long-term memory (LTM).
- The capacity limitations of WM are predicted to constrain LTM acquisition, but empirical evidence is inconsistent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively test the 'gateway hypothesis' by examining the impact of WM load on LTM.
- To investigate how varying task parameters influences the relationship between WM capacity and LTM encoding.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted, each including a WM test and a delayed LTM test for identical information.
- WM set size was manipulated (2-10 items), alongside material type (verbal/visual), memory focus (item/binding), and test type (recognition/recall).
Main Results:
- WM set size affected LTM performance only under specific conditions: item memory tests with concrete stimuli and LTM tests for novel items.
- These effects were not consistently observed across all experimental variations.
- Overall, increasing WM load showed minimal impairment on LTM encoding.
Conclusions:
- WM capacity does not generally act as a bottleneck for LTM trace formation.
- The gateway hypothesis is not supported under most tested conditions, suggesting separate or more complex mechanisms for memory transfer.
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