From the course: Interaction Design for the Web

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Memory overload

Memory overload

From the course: Interaction Design for the Web

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Memory overload

- It's useful to think of our memory as two separate types of storage, short term and long term. Long-term memory is where our brains store the information we use in our lives. Stuff only makes it into our long-term memory if we use it frequently or rehearse it enough. Short-term memory is where we hold the information we're using right now, a phone number we're about to dial, the name of someone we were just introduced to, a street address we need to get to, and so on. It takes conscious effort to keep remembering that stuff in short-term memory. If we get distracted and stop repeating it to ourselves, we forget it after about 20 seconds. This has some implications for how we design software, too. As you can imagine, if someone's busy trying to keep some information in their short-term memory, it makes it hard for them to focus on the interface. So it's important to make sure users don't have to remember stuff between screens or applications. For example, it would be bad if they had…

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