Sensory Memory Sensory memory is the first level of memory, as explained in the paragraph levels of memory. Sensory memory retains the brief impression of a sensory stimulus after the stimulus itself has ended. Imagine, you see an object. When the object has diappeared, it may still be vivid in your memory. "The sensory memory holds a short impression of sensory information even when the sensory system does not send any information anymore." Research Most research has focused on the visual and auditory systems, although there are presumably sensory registers for all our senses. For visual stimuli, we have an extremely short 'photographic' memory (about 500 milliseconds), which gives us a persistent image. In hearing we have echoic memories, which are mental echoes of stimuli. Characteristics There are various specific issues about sensory memory: first, it is a high capacity form of memory registration of visual data. Second, information in the sensory memory is un-interpreted. Third, sensory memory is short; visual information, for example, fades away in less than a second. Using the Information If we want to use the information in the sensory memory, we must quickly encode it it into a more durable form. Processing begins with attention, which selectively determines what will 'get through' for further examination and what will not. Attention allows us to focus on parts of the stimulus and thereby to recognize some of its features. Obviously, any shortcomings in sensory memory can create problems for further processing of sensory information. Sensory memory allow us to take a 'snapshot' of our environment, and to store this information for a short period. Only informatin that is transferred to another level of memory will be preserved for more than 1 à two seconds.  Further reading:   Long-term memory   Short-term memory 1   Short-term memory 2   Long and short-term Do you have more information about Sensory memory? Please share it in our database. [ TOP ]   © ThinkQuest Team 26618. All Rights Reserved.