Einstein Working Memory

When most people think of geniuses, the first person that typically comes to mind is Albert Einstein. Being the highly successful physicist he was, many aspire to be like him. But, did you know that despite how intelligent Einstein was, he was quite forgetful? Einstein typically had a hard time with recalling names or memorizing certain material (Wolff, B., & Goodman, H., n.d.). This begs the question: to what extent can memory, particularly working memory and long-term memory, predict intelligence? Intelligence is defined in multiple ways, yet generally it is the degree to which someone “uses their understandings to navigate increasingly complex scenarios” (“Culture Fair Intelligence Test”, n.d). On the other hand, working memory is known

In the first experiment, levels of processing (LOP) was tested in regards to both types of memory. LOP is defined as the “the depth of processing involved in memory and predicts the deeper information is processed, the longer a memory trace will last” (McLeod, 2007). In the first experiment, participants were presented a stack of cards with the first card out of every two cards being the main word to focus on and say aloud the first time it is presented. The second card had two words, one of which rhymed with the first. All of the words had distinct colors with one word from the second card matching the color of the main word from the first card. Participants were given series of tasks such as determining which word rhymed and which word’s color matched the main word. After each task, the screen went blank for 750ms. In the end, the participants were given a surprise test measuring how well they could recall the target words. The results of the experiment showed that the level of processing principles were more displayed under long-term memory and were nonexistent under working

However, given how distinct the functions of working memory and secondary memory are, it is essential to find out how well each is predictive of intelligence. Given that intelligence is often thought of as a factor for success and good memory is essential in all aspects of life, seeing if there is connection between the two may be beneficial to mankind. I predict that long-term memory is far more predictive of intelligence in comparison to working memory, as depicted by the Einstein example and Liesefeld, Hoffmann, & Wentura (2015). In general, long-term memory has clear connections to intelligence as both use cues to pick up on aspects of their