What technique is employed to maintain information in short-term memory by repeating it?

The technique used to maintain information in short-term memory through repetition is known as maintenance rehearsal. This method involves repeatedly verbalizing or thinking about a piece of information to keep it active in memory for a short period. For example, if someone needs to remember a phone number for a brief time, they might repeat the digits over and over to themselves until they can write it down or dial it.

Maintenance rehearsal focuses on the surface-level retention of data without necessarily understanding or linking it to other information, which is different from other methods like elaborative rehearsal, which encourages deeper processing by connecting new information to existing knowledge. Chunking involves grouping information together to make it easier to remember, rather than just repeating it. Lastly, semantic processing pertains to the meaning of information rather than its mere repetition. Each of these alternative strategies has its unique applications and benefits but doesn’t primarily focus on simple repetition to maintain information in the short term as maintenance rehearsal does.