Final answer:
Multitasking is disruptive to short-term memory (STM), which is a temporary storage system for processing incoming sensory information and is affected by the frequent switching of mental tasks.
Step-by-step explanation:
The memory system that needs to be rebooted each time a person switches mental tasks, especially when multitasking, is short-term memory (STM). As a component of working memory, STM serves as a temporary storage system that processes incoming sensory information. It has a limited capacity and can typically hold about seven bits of information before it is either forgotten or stored. STM takes in data from sensory memory, which keeps track of brief sensory events like sights, sounds, and tastes, and it is the stage before potentially moving on to long-term memory. Multitasking can be particularly disruptive to short-term memory due to the demands it places on attention and the constant switching of cognitive tasks, which can impair the effectiveness of memory consolidation.