<P> 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 . </P> <P> 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). 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 . 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 . </P> <P> Echoic memory, coined by Ulric Neisser, 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 . Echoic memory is generally cited as having a duration of between 1.5 and 5 seconds depending on context but has been shown to last up to 20 seconds in the absence of competing information . </P> <P> While much of the information in sensory memory decays and is forgotten, some is attended to . The information that is attended is transferred to the short - term store (also short - term memory, working memory; note that while these terms are often used interchangeably they were not originally intended to be used as such). </P>

The memory that holds large amounts of information for 1-2 seconds or less is