Short-term memory (or "primary" or "active memory") is the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time. The duration of short-term memory (when rehearsal or active maintenance is prevented) is believed to be in the order of seconds. A commonly cited capacity is 7 ± 2 elements. In contrast, long-term memory indefinitely stores a seemingly unlimited amount of information.
Short-term memory should be distinguished from working memory, which refers to structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating information (see details below)
Read more about Short-term Memory: Existence of A Separate Store, Relationship With Working Memory, Duration of Short-term Memory, Capacity of Short-term Memory
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... The short-term memory refers to the ability to hold information from immediate past for a short duration of time ... According to the Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory, in the process of Encoding, perceived memory enters the brain and can be quickly forgotten if the sensory information is not stored further in the short-term memory ... The information is readily accessible in the short-term memory for only a short time ...
... It is very difficult to demonstrate the exact capacity of short-term memory (STM) because it will vary depending on the nature of the material to be recalled ... capacity of STM can be affected by the following Influence of long-term memory, Reading aloud, Pronunciation time and Individual differences ...
Famous quotes containing the words memory, short-term:
“We went to Mannheim and attended a shivaree—otherwise an opera—the one called “Lohengrin.” The banging and slamming and booming and crashing were something beyond belief. The racking and pitiless pain of it remains stored up in my memory alongside the memory of the time that I had my teeth fixed.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.”
—Tom Stoppard (b. 1937)