Short term memory has three key aspects:
- Limited capacity
- Limited duration
- Encoding
- Short term memory is the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time. The duration of short-term memory (when rehearsal or active maintenance is prevented) is believed to be in the order of seconds.
- Long-term memory (LTM) is the final stage of the dual memory model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin, in which data can be stored for long periods of time. While short-term and working memory persists for only about 20 to 30 seconds, information can remain in long term memory indefinitely.
- There a two answers to why we forget. First, the memory has disappeared - it is no longer available. Second, the memory is still stored in the memory system but, for some reason, it cannot be retrieved. These two answers summaries the main theories of forgetting developed by psychologists. The first answer is more likely to be applied to forgetting in short term memory, the second to forgetting in long term memory.