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Updated: Feb 13, 2026
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A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test
Published on: May 16, 2017
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Working memory encoding of attended information is adaptive to future relevance
Ping Zhu1, Chenxiao Guan1, Yingtao Fu1
1Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|February 12, 2026
Summary
Working memory encoding is not automatic; information is actively stored only when it is expected to be useful in the future. This adaptive process highlights the role of future relevance in memory formation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Attention and working memory are traditionally considered closely linked.
- Attribute amnesia, where attended information is forgotten, challenges this link.
- Previous research on working memory encoding of attended information yielded conflicting results.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reconcile conflicting findings on working memory encoding.
- To investigate the role of future relevance in encoding attended information into working memory.
- To determine if working memory encoding is automatic or adaptive.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed tasks involving attended information (key features).
- The future relevance of the key feature was manipulated.
- Memory for the key feature was assessed.
Main Results:
- When a key feature became irrelevant post-attention, it was not automatically encoded into working memory.
- When a key feature was anticipated to be useful in future tasks, it was intentionally encoded into working memory.
- Working memory encoding is influenced by the expected future utility of information.
Conclusions:
- Attended information does not automatically enter working memory.
- Working memory actively encodes information when it is expected to be relevant in the future.
- Working memory encoding is an adaptive process driven by future relevance.
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