Sensory Memory
Pham Tuan Minh
School of Computer Science and Engineering
Contents
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
Sensory Memory
Iconic Memory
Sperling’s experiments
 Problems with Iconic Memory
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Echoic Memory
Precategorical Acoustic Store (PAS)
 Other Theories of Echoic Memory
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Odor Memory
Sensory Memory (1)
The Information Processing
Model
Sensory Memory (2)
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“Sensory memory is the name given to the memory
system that retains purely sensory information.”
(Crowder & Surprenant, 2000)
There are two types of sensory memory:
Iconic memory
 Echoic memory
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Iconic Memory
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Iconic memory:
A type of sensory memory
 Was named by George Sperling in 1960

Sperling’s experiments (1)

Sperling’s experiments required the tests to recall
as many elements from a visual display removed
at various different intervals.
2
B
33
99
2
0
U
U
00
Y
E
77
N
N
Sperling’s experiments (2)

Sperling’s experiments concluded the idea of
iconic memory – a “single, visible,
precategorical, high-capacity, quickly decaying
memory”.
Problems with Iconic Memory
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In some experiments (Merikle, 1980), iconic
memory is not precategorical.
The idea of output interference.
The types of errors that the subjects make.
Stimulus persistence is different from
information persistence.
Echoic Memory

Echoic memory:
A type of sensory memory
 Was named by Neisser in 1967

Precategorical Acoustic Store
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
Precategorical Acoustic Store (PAS) is the best
modality which is seen as a specific theory of
echoic memory.
PAS makes several predictions about the
modality effect.
PAS’s predictions
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No recency effect will be observable with visual
presentation when serial recall is the measure.
The usefulness of the supplementary
information in PAS.
Other Theories of Echoic Memory
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The Changing-State Hypothesis
The Primary Linguistic Code Hypothesis
The Multicomponent View
Cannot address the modality and suffix effects observed with tactile stimuli
Tests of the changing state hypothesis have generally not been supportive
Cannot explain tactile modality and suffix effects
Odor Memory
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Studies of odor memory have lagged far behind
studies of visual and auditory memory.
Continuing debate in odor memory.
Thank you for listening!