Which term refers to the phenomenon where an individual may forget why they entered a room due to a disruption in working memory?

The phenomenon described in the question is related to absent-mindedness, which specifically refers to the lapses in attention and memory that can occur when someone's focus is distracted or disrupted. When an individual walks into a room and suddenly forgets why they entered, it illustrates a temporary breakdown in working memory due to distractions or divided attention.

This disruption prevents the individual from successfully encoding the intention to execute a specific action. Absent-mindedness often manifests in everyday situations, such as misplacing items or forgetting tasks, and highlights how cognitive processes can be interrupted, leading to gaps in memory.

In contrast, other terms like transience refer to the gradual loss of information over time, blocking relates to the inability to retrieve information that is known, and persistence describes the continued intrusion of unwanted memories. These terms capture different aspects of memory failure that do not specifically address the immediate loss of intention commonly seen in absent-mindedness.