Short-term memory is the stage between the sensory memory and the long-term memory. It is the workbench of our consciousness, and includes our awareness of the sensations, feelings and thoughts that are experienced. The short-term memory is also called working memory. "Short-term memory is the work bench of our consciousness, and includes our awareness of the sensations, feelings and thoughts that are experienced." Differences Short-term memory differs from the sensory memory in several ways. First, the capacity of the sensory memory is almost unlimited, whereas the capacity of the short-term memory is limited. It can hold only a small amount of information at one time. Second, the information in the sensory memory is unprocessed, while the information in the short-term memory has been encoded. The information in the short-term memory does not fade away as quickly as information in the sensory memory. The information in the short-term memory will be lost in about twenty à thirty seconds, unless it is processed further. Content and work space Short-term memory consists of both content and work space. The content is the information which we can immediately recall (current awareness or consciousness). The contents of short-term memory can be worked on or processed in the work space. To indicate how the content and the workspace operate together Robert Klatzky introduced the analogy of a workbench in a carpentry shop. The carpenters materials are piled up on a part of the bench, this is called the content area. The rest of the bench is where the materials are created, this is the workspace. Just as the carpenter has limited space on his workbench, we all must do our mental work with a limited short-term memory capacity. Short-term memory is not limited to individual digits or letters. Individual items of information can be grouped into chunks, which combine separate items. For example, the word t-a-b-l-e contains five letters, but this word constitutes one chunk. Short-term memory can hold seven (plus or minus two) chunks of information. This can be tested by the following test: Try to remember: b-t-k-l-g-f-t-d-s-r. Now try to repeat it without looking at the screen. You will probably remember not all characters, but only 7 or less. Now try to remember: boat-keel-gift-desire. Try to repeat these without looking at the screen. You will probably have remembered them all. This illustrates that it is more difficult to remember 10 letters than four words, even if those words contain far more than ten letters.  Further reading:   Long-term memory   Short-term memory 1   Short-term memory 2   Long and short-term Do you have more information about Short-term memory? Please share it in our database. [ TOP ]   © ThinkQuest Team 26618. All Rights Reserved.