Dependence of Long-Term Memory Detalisation on Working Memory Load at Encoding

In this paper, I conducted a study on the interaction of working and long-term memory. Previous studies have shown that subjects can store in their memory thousands of features of objects, successfully using them for recall. However, it was not clear how loading working memory will affect the success of encoding features of objects. The following hypothesis was put forward: "Lack of cognitive resources caused by the load of working memory during coding will lead to the fact that the accuracy of the answers of the subjects at the recall stage will noticeably worsen." To test the hypothesis, an experiment was made, divided into 2 parts. In one part, the subjects had their working memory loaded during encoding process - they had to perform change detection task, during which they were presented with images of objects from the real world to memorize. In another part of the experiment, there was no load on the working memory, participants had to just memorize objects. After that, the subjects passed the task of identifying the object - they were presented with one new object and one that they remembered. The task of the subjects was to answer which of the objects they remembered earlier. There were 3 types of paired objects - from a different category than the old object, from the same category and the same object, but in a different state. During the study, it turned out that loading working memory greatly impairs the ability of subjects to efficiently encode information into long-term memory. However, the validity of the experimental data is in question, due to a number of limitations created by the COVID-19 pandemic.