<P> Measures of working - memory capacity are strongly related to performance in other complex cognitive tasks, such as reading comprehension, problem solving, and with measures of intelligence quotient . </P> <P> Some researchers have argued that working - memory capacity reflects the efficiency of executive functions, most notably the ability to maintain multiple task - relevant representations in the face of distracting irrelevant information; and that such tasks seem to reflect individual differences in the ability to focus and maintain attention, particularly when other events are serving to capture attention . Both working memory and executive functions rely strongly, though not exclusively, on frontal brain areas . </P> <P> Other researchers have argued that the capacity of working memory is better characterized as the ability to mentally form relations between elements, or to grasp relations in given information . This idea has been advanced, among others, by Graeme Halford, who illustrated it by our limited ability to understand statistical interactions between variables . These authors asked people to compare written statements about the relations between several variables to graphs illustrating the same or a different relation, as in the following sentence: "If the cake is from France, then it has more sugar if it is made with chocolate than if it is made with cream, but if the cake is from Italy, then it has more sugar if it is made with cream than if it is made of chocolate". This statement describes a relation between three variables (country, ingredient, and amount of sugar), which is the maximum most individuals can understand . The capacity limit apparent here is obviously not a memory limit (all relevant information can be seen continuously) but a limit to how many relationships are discerned simultaneously . </P> <P> There are several hypotheses about the nature of the capacity limit . One is that a limited pool of cognitive resources needed to keep representations active and thereby available for processing, and for carrying out processes . Another hypothesis is that memory traces in working memory decay within a few seconds, unless refreshed through rehearsal, and because the speed of rehearsal is limited, we can maintain only a limited amount of information . Yet another idea is that representations held in working memory interfere with each other . </P>

Which of the following is an example of memory failure