What is working memory?
Working memory is the ability to hold information in mind for a few seconds while you use it — repeating a phone number, following a multi-step instruction, or keeping the start of a sentence in mind while parsing the end. It's the cognitive scratchpad that links perception to reasoning, and one of the strongest single predictors of fluid intelligence.
Unlike long-term memory, working memory has a strict capacity. Most adults can hold 5–9 items in mind, with the median around 7 for digits forward and 5 for digits reversed. Capacity peaks in the early twenties and declines gradually after.
What this test measures
- Digit span (forward) — repeating a sequence in the order shown. Tests raw short-term storage.
- Digit span (reversed) — repeating in reverse order. Tests storage plus manipulation, the hallmark of working memory.
- Position memory — recalling which item appeared at a specific position in a list.
- Paired associates — binding two unrelated items (a letter and a word) and recalling one given the other.
- Visual grid pattern — recognising a flashed spatial pattern among similar distractors.
- Sequence recall — locating an item N positions before another in a remembered list.
Difficulty ramp
Questions 1–2 are warm-ups (4-digit span, single-word recognition). Questions 3–5 introduce 5-digit span, position queries, and visual grids. Questions 6–8 require reversal, paired binding, and sequential search. Questions 9–10 are ceiling items — a 7-digit forward span and a 6-digit reversed span — designed to differentiate the top decile.
How to read your result
Working memory correlates strongly with fluid intelligence (Gf) and predicts performance on novel reasoning tasks better than crystallised knowledge does. Capacity is partially trainable: chunking, rehearsal, and visualisation strategies measurably extend span over weeks of practice. To see your full cognitive profile across all five primary domains, take the full IQ test.