Questioning short-term memory and its measurement: Why digit span measures long-term associative learning

What is it about?

The archetypal measure of short-term memory is the digit span task. This paper shows how performance on digit span tasks are largely governed by long-term learning of digit sequences and therefore questions the many studies that have drawn implications about short-term memory involvement in a wide range of domains. In doing so, we also raise questions about how short-term memory is theorized.

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Why is it important?

Broadly speaking there are two key conclusions from this paper: (1) performance on short-term memory tasks can be explained by associative learning of task stimuli, questioning current theoretical perspectives of short-term memory; (2) digit span is particularly gullible to such learning, questioning the thousands of studies where digit span has been used to conclude short-term memory involvement in tasks.