Components of Short Term Memory

Short term memory is often called or referred to as working memory. It is mostly used to recall certain information that you heard in just a short span of time, such as a telephone number, a name of a person, or an instruction from a teacher or supervisor at work.

Length

• Short-term or working memory lasts no more than a second. It starts with the capturing of information in a flash by an event known as sensory register. This means that everything a person sees or visualizes disappears just after a second. Some examples are a name from a crowd, a phone number yelled out nearby, or a giant sign you saw while driving or commuting in a public transportation.

Storage Capacity

• Short-term memory is capable of retaining only approximately seven items at a time, which disappears forever in a matter of seconds. For this reason, it is imperative that we strive to remember the important events and things that come across our mind to keep them stored for many years to come.

Basic Operations

• Short-term memory (STM) has three basic operations, namely iconic memory, acoustic memory and working memory. Iconic memory handles visual images while acoustic memory retains sounds and usually lasts longer than iconic memory. Working memory deals with the immediate use of captured information. This does not mean that working memory will be transformed to long-term memory but it rather challenges the mind to use the stored information immediately or it will forever be lost.

Comparison with RAM

• Short-term memory is generally compared with Random Access Memory, or RAM, of a computer. The computer's RAM basically provides a space for brief analyses. The comparison stops here because the RAM then passes the information it captures to larger components such as a graphics memory card and system processor for greater retention and application while the short-term memory only retains the images it sees and the sounds it hears for a brief moment and then discards it almost immediately.