The Capacity of Visual Short Term Memory

A person's memory is a tricky thing, as it isn't always the most reliable way to hold onto information. You may be surprised at how quickly a person can forget something he's just seen, as it was only stored for a moment in his short-term memory.

Visual Memory

• Visual memory is a kind of sensory memory, and it is basically a person's ability to remember what she's seen. Stimuli must pass through senses and become information, such as as visual memories, in order to be processed into short-term memory.

Short-Term Memory

• Short-term memory is what your brain accesses when you try to remember the name of a person you were just introduced to, or a phone number you heard a moment ago. Interestingly, grouping information together makes short-term memory more efficient; phone numbers are divided up into hyphenated groups to make them easier to remember.

Short-Term Memory Capacity

• Short-term memory decays quickly and only lasts for a few seconds to a minute, although the exact amount of time may vary from person to person. When it comes to visual memory, the average person can remember about four items in his short-term memory, and is more successful if not distracted by something else.