Serial memory processing is the act of attending to and processing one item at a time. This is usually contrasted against parallel memory processing, which is the act of attending to and processing all items simultaneously.
In short-term memory search tasks, participants are given a set of items (i.e. letters, digits) one at a time and then, after varying periods of delay, are asked for recall of the items. As well, participants could be asked whether a specific target item was present in thistheir original set. In serialSerial memory processing, participantsprocessors would compare one item at a time, from their original set, and would not move to the next comparison until the previous is complete. <ref> Townsend, J. & Fific, M. (2004). Parallel versus serial processing and individual differences in high-speed search in human memory. ''Perception & Psychophysics, 66''(6).</ref>
