Short Term Memory vs. Working Memory

Memory can be classified in different ways. In 1980, William James described two types of memory: primary and secondary. Primary memory refers to the “memory for events that have just happened” (Andrade & May, 2004, p. 59). Primary memory which is now referred to as short term memory (STM) is temporary andtransient. On the other hand, secondarymemory refers to the “memory that happened some time ago” (ibid.) secondary memory is permanent and long-lasting and it is nowreferred to as long-term memory (LTM) (Andrade & May, 2004).