New estimate for storage time in sensory memory.

Sperling in 1960 reported information in sensory storage remained for about one sec. In 1974 Phillips reported that information in sensory storage passed on to short-term visual memory after 100 msec. To distinguish between these alternatives, 55 subjects received 36 trials in which two matrices of letters, familiar shapes, or non-familiar shapes were presented successively in a recognition task. The interstimulus interval varied systematically. Results showed that as the interval increased, performance decreased. Further, memory for letters and familiar shapes was superior. Finally, there were no differences among letters, familiar shapes, and non-familiar shapes at the .25-sec. interval. At the .5-sec. interval, performance for familiar shapes was superior to performance for non-familiar shapes. It was concluded that information transfers to short-term visual storage after .25 sec.