Iconic Memory and Visual Stimuli

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDefinitionHistoryExamplesVisual PersistenceImpactFrequently Asked Questions

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Table of Contents

Definition

History

Examples

Visual Persistence

Impact

Frequently Asked Questions

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There are manydifferent types of memories. One type is known as iconic memory, which involves the memory of visual stimuli. Iconic memory is how the brain remembers an image we’ve seen in the world around us.

Here we dive a bit deeper into iconic memory, including talking more about what it is, how it works, and how it was first discovered. We also explore important phenomena that influence the persistence of visual stimuli when creating this memory type.

What Is Iconic Memory?

The word ‘iconic’ refers to an icon, and an icon is a pictorial representation or image. So, iconic memory is the storage for visual memory that allows us to visualize an image after the physical stimulus is no longer present.

For example, look at an object in the room you are in now, and then close your eyes and visualize that object. The image you “see” in your mind is your iconic memory of that visual stimulus.

Iconic memory is part of the visual memory system, which includeslong-term memoryand visualshort-term memory. It is a type ofsensory memorythat lasts just milliseconds before fading.

One study found considerable variability in the duration of iconic memory. For some participants, it lasted up to 240ms while for others, it lasted no more than 120ms. The researchers suggested that this may indicate that iconic memory has different layers linked to specific levels of visual hierarchy.

History of Iconic Memory

In 1960, George Sperling performed experiments designed to demonstrate the existence of visual sensory memory.He was also interested in exploring the capacity and duration of this memory type.

In Sperling’s experiments, he showed participants a series of letters on a mirror tachistoscope. These letters were only visible for a fraction of a second. While the subjects were able to recognize at least some letters in that short time frame, few were able to identify more than four or five.

The results of these experiments suggested that the human visual system is capable of retaining information even if the exposure is very brief. The reason so few letters could be recalled, Sperling suggested, was because this type of memory is so fleeting.

In additional experiments, Sperling provided clues to help prompt memories of the letters. Letters were presented in rows and the participants were asked to recall only the top, middle, or bottom row.

The participants were able to remember the prompted letters relatively easily, suggesting it is the limitations of this type of visual memory that prevent us from recalling all of the letters. We see and register them, Sperling believed, but the memories simply fade too quickly to be recalled.

In 1967, psychologist Ulric Neisser labeled this form of quickly fading visual memory as iconic memory.Interestingly, Neisser is also known as the father ofcognitive psychology.

Examples of Iconic Memory

It can be helpful to consider a few examples of iconic memory and how it exists in daily life. Consider some of these scenarios:

Iconic Memory and Visual Persistence

Iconic memory involves the persistence of visual information. There are three different types of visual persistence when it comes to iconic memory:

Research has found three important effects that influence iconic memory for visual stimuli:

It is important to note that these phenomena do not apply to afterimages. Afterimages are produced when a stimulus is so intense that the retinal impression causes the continued activation of the visual system.

Impact of Iconic Memory

Iconic memory is believed to play a role inchange blindness. This refers to the failure to detect changes in a visual scene.

One study added that individual differences in change blindness were related to both the strength and stability of the visual image as well as visual ability, including the strength of iconic memory.

What Is Memory?

Frequently Asked QuestionsIconic memory is primarily stored and processed in the occipital lobe, which also contains the visual cortex.Visual information is transmitted from the eyes to the occipital lobe. It can then be briefly stored, as it is for iconic memory. Paying attention to visual information may result in it being transmitted to other regions of the brain where it can then enter short-term memory or, potentially, long-term memory.Learn More:Anatomy of the BrainBoth iconic and photographic memory involve the memory of images. However, photographic memory is different from iconic in that it involves the ability to remember the image in great detail, which isn’t necessarily the case with iconic memory.Iconic memory is very brief, lasting just milliseconds. However, research suggests that there are individual differences in this ability. While iconic memory lasts less than 120 milliseconds for some individuals, it can last up to 240 milliseconds for others.

Iconic memory is primarily stored and processed in the occipital lobe, which also contains the visual cortex.Visual information is transmitted from the eyes to the occipital lobe. It can then be briefly stored, as it is for iconic memory. Paying attention to visual information may result in it being transmitted to other regions of the brain where it can then enter short-term memory or, potentially, long-term memory.Learn More:Anatomy of the Brain

Iconic memory is primarily stored and processed in the occipital lobe, which also contains the visual cortex.Visual information is transmitted from the eyes to the occipital lobe. It can then be briefly stored, as it is for iconic memory. Paying attention to visual information may result in it being transmitted to other regions of the brain where it can then enter short-term memory or, potentially, long-term memory.

Learn More:Anatomy of the Brain

Both iconic and photographic memory involve the memory of images. However, photographic memory is different from iconic in that it involves the ability to remember the image in great detail, which isn’t necessarily the case with iconic memory.

Iconic memory is very brief, lasting just milliseconds. However, research suggests that there are individual differences in this ability. While iconic memory lasts less than 120 milliseconds for some individuals, it can last up to 240 milliseconds for others.

8 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Rensink RA.Limits to the usability of iconic memory.Front Psychol. 2014;5:971. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00971

Sperling G.The information available in brief visual presentations.Psycholog Monographs Gen App. 1960;74(11):1-29. doi:10.1037/h0093759

Sperling G.A brief overview of computational models of spatial, temporal, and feature visual attention. In:Invariances in Human Information Processing.

Wingfield A.Evolution of models of working memory and cognitive resources.Ear Hear. 2016;37:35S-43S. doi:10.1097/AUD.0000000000000310

Spalek TM, Di Lollo V.Metacontrast masking reduces the estimated duration of visible persistence.Atten Percep Psychophys. 2022;84:341-346. doi:10.3758/s13414-021-02431-w

Cohen MA, Dennett DC, Kanwisher N.What is the bandwidth of perceptual experience?Trends Cog Sci. 2016;20(5):324-335. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.03.006

Cleveland Clinic.Occipital lobe.

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