Editing Atkinson–Shiffrin memory model (section)

==Sensory register==
{{Main|Sensory memory}}
When an environmental stimulus is detected by the senses, it is briefly available in what Atkinson and Shiffrin called the ''sensory registers'' (also ''sensory buffers'' or ''[[sensory memory]]''). Though this store is generally referred to as "the sensory register" or "sensory memory", it is actually composed of multiple registers, one for each sense. The sensory registers do not process the information carried by the stimulus, but rather detect and hold information for milliseconds to seconds to be used in short-term memory.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goldstein |first=E. Bruce |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1055681278 |title=Cognitive psychology : connecting mind, research, and everyday experience |date=2019 |isbn=978-1-337-40827-1 |edition=5E |location=Boston, MA, USA |oclc=1055681278}}</ref> For this reason Atkinson and Shiffrin also called the registers "buffers", as they prevent immense amounts of information from overwhelming higher-level cognitive processes. Information is only transferred to the short-term memory when attention is given to it, otherwise it decays rapidly and is forgotten.<ref name=AtkinsonShiffrin1968 />

While it is generally agreed that there is a sensory register for each sense, most of the research in the area has focused on the visual and auditory systems.

===Iconic memory===
[[Iconic memory]], which is associated with the [[visual system]], is perhaps the most researched of the sensory registers. The original evidence suggesting sensory stores which are separate to short-term and long-term memory was experimentally demonstrated for the visual system using a [[tachistoscope]].<ref name=Sperling1960 />

[[Iconic memory]] is only limited to field of vision. That is, as long as a stimulus has entered the field of vision there is no limit to the amount of visual information iconic memory can hold at any one time. As noted above, sensory registers do not allow for further processing of information, and as such iconic memory only holds information for visual stimuli such as shape, size, color and location (but not semantic meaning).<ref name=Sperling1960 /> As the higher-level processes are limited in their capacities, not all information from sensory memory can be conveyed. It has been argued that the momentary mental freezing of visual input allows for the selection of specific aspects which should be passed on for further memory processing.<ref name=ColtheartLeaThompson1974 /> The biggest limitation of iconic memory is the rapid decay of the information stored there; items in iconic memory decay after only 0.5–1.0 seconds.<ref name=Sperling1960 />

===Echoic memory===
[[Echoic memory]], coined by [[Ulric Neisser]],<ref name=Neisser1967 /> refers to information that is registered by the [[auditory system]]. As with [[iconic memory]], echoic memory only holds superficial aspects of sound (e.g. pitch, tempo, or rhythm) and it has a nearly limitless capacity.<ref name=DarwinTurveyCrowder1972 /> Echoic memory is generally cited as having a duration of between 1.5 and 5 seconds depending on context<ref name=DarwinTurveyCrowder1972 /><ref name=Treisman1964 /><ref name=Norman1969 /> but has been shown to last up to 20 seconds in the absence of competing information.<ref name=GlucksbergCowen1970 />