Modal Model of Memory

Sensory Memory

Very brief, high-capacity store that holds raw sensory input for a fraction of a second before it fades.

  • Iconic: visual (the afterimage of a flash)
  • Echoic: auditory (replaying the last second of speech)
  • Also tactile, olfactory, and other modalities

First stage of the Modal Model: attended items move on to Short-term Memory, the rest dissolves.