<P> SM is considered to be outside of cognitive control and is instead an automatic response . The information represented in SM is the "raw data" which provides a snapshot of a person's overall sensory experience . Common features between each sensory modality have been identified; however, as experimental techniques advance, exceptions and additions to these general characteristics will surely evolve . The auditory store, echoic memory, for example, has been shown to have a temporal characteristic in which the timing and tempo of a presented stimulus affects transfer into more stable forms of memory . Four common features have been identified for all forms of SM: </P> <Ol> <Li> The formation of a SM trace is only weakly dependent on attention to the stimulus . </Li> <Li> The information stored in SM is modality specific . This means for example, that echoic memory is for the exclusive storage of auditory information, and haptic memory is for the exclusive storage of tactile information . </Li> <Li> Each SM store represents an immense amount of detail resulting in very high resolution of information . </Li> <Li> Each SM store is very brief and lasts a very short period of time . Once the SM trace has decayed or is replaced by a new memory, the information stored is no longer accessible and is ultimately lost . All SM stores have slightly different durations which is discussed in more detail on their respective pages . </Li> </Ol> <Li> The formation of a SM trace is only weakly dependent on attention to the stimulus . </Li> <Li> The information stored in SM is modality specific . This means for example, that echoic memory is for the exclusive storage of auditory information, and haptic memory is for the exclusive storage of tactile information . </Li>

Recall the four major types of sensory receptors