Short Term Memory

Short-term memory (S.T.M) is part of the memory storage system which is capable of storing material for a brief period of time and to some extent it determines how well the rest of your intelligences are utilized. Short-term memory has two important characteristics. First, at any one time it can contain seven, plus or minus two, "chunks" of information. If S.T.M tries to acquire more items than it can handle, the middle items will often be displaced. Second, items remain in short-term memory around twenty seconds. Substantial evidence exists to support a general dependency of reasoning upon short-term memory capacity. The longer information is stored in short term memory the easier it is to manipulate information needed in the execution of complex cognitive tasks (e.g., learning, reasoning, and comprehension).

Here is a question which demonstrates Short term memory :

Q.If the day before yesterday is two days after Monday then what day is it today?

Correct answer: Friday

Tips that help increase short term memory
Your ability to store information in short term memory is affected by many things. Depression and anxiety for instance often affect your concentration and stress can also make you feel "scattered" and jumpy. Marijuana users also experience subtle short term memory deficits that continue for at least six weeks after their last usage.Generally if short term memory tries to acquire more items than it can handle, the middle items will often be displaced.

Chunking of information can lead to an increase in short term memory capacity. This is the reason why a hyphenated phone number is easier to remember than a single long number. Storage also seems to increase if we pronounce the names of the items out loud especially if they are grouped rhythmically.

Try reading this sequence and then recall it:

i g d b f d n o n u c a

Next, try the same exercise on these letters:

c o u n f b a d d i n g

Chunking it into a word you can pronounce made the difference.

Try the same process with this list of numbers:

2 8 3 4 9 6

Next, try remembering this:

28 34 96

Instead of six numbers, you only need to recall three