Final answer:
Working memory is the stage of memory that involves a person's current thoughts or focus. Sensory memory briefly holds sensory information, and short-term memory processes incoming sensory memory. Long-term memory stores and retrieves encoded information.
Step-by-step explanation:
The stage of memory that involves whatever a person is currently thinking about or the item/object of the individual's focus is Working Memory. Working memory is a cognitive system that temporarily holds and manipulates information in our consciousness. It helps us maintain and process information for tasks such as problem-solving, decision-making, and language comprehension.
In contrast, Sensory Memory is the stage of memory that briefly holds sensory information from our environment, such as sights, sounds, and tastes. It has a very brief duration and can only hold a limited amount of information.
Short-term memory (STM) is more accurately described as a component of working memory. It is the temporary storage system that processes incoming sensory memory and holds information for a short period of time before either being forgotten or transferred to long-term memory.
Long-term memory, on the other hand, is the stage of memory where information that has been encoded and stored can be retrieved and used in the future. It has a practically limitless storage capacity.