Are short term memories most often stored phonetically?

Short-term memories are not primarily stored phonetically, meaning they are not stored as sounds. While sounds play a role in how we initially perceive and process information, short-term memory relies on a combination of different coding mechanisms:

* Acoustic: This involves the sound of the information, which can be important for remembering things like names or phone numbers.

* Visual: This involves the visual appearance of the information, which is crucial for remembering faces, objects, and locations.

* Semantic: This involves the meaning of the information, which helps us to understand and connect different pieces of information.

So, short-term memory is not purely phonetic, but it is a combination of different coding systems, including acoustic, visual, and semantic.

Additionally, short-term memory has a limited capacity and duration. This means that information is not stored permanently in short-term memory but must be actively rehearsed to be transferred to long-term memory.

In contrast, long-term memories are primarily stored semantically, based on their meaning and connections to other information.