Editing Atkinson–Shiffrin memory model (section)

===Duration===
As with sensory memory, the information that enters short-term memory decays and is lost, but the information in the short-term store has a longer duration, approximately 18–20 seconds when the information is not being actively rehearsed,<ref name=PetersonPeterson1959 /> though it is possible that this depends on modality and could be as long as 30 seconds.<ref name=Posner1966 /> Fortunately, the information can be held in the short-term store for much longer through what Atkinson and Shiffrin called [[memory rehearsal|rehearsal]]. For auditory information rehearsal can be taken in a literal sense: continually repeating the items. However, the term can be applied for any information that is attended to, such as when a visual image is intentionally held in mind. Finally, information in the short-term store does not have to be of the same modality as its sensory input. For example, written text which enters visually can be held as auditory information, and likewise auditory input can be visualized. On this model, rehearsal of information allows for it to be stored more permanently in the long-term store. Atkinson and Shiffrin discussed this at length for auditory and visual information but did not give much attention to the rehearsal/storage of other modalities due to the experimental difficulties of studying those modalities.<ref name=AtkinsonShiffrin1968 />