FIGURE 6.2 Sperling’s Experiment Demonstrating the Duration of Sensory Memory This figure depicts George Sperling’s classic 1960 experiment. (1) Subjects stared at a screen on which rows of letters were projected for just one-twentieth of a second, then the screen went blank. (2) After intervals varying up to one second, a tone was sounded that indicated the row of letters the subject should report. (3) If the tone was sounded within about one-third of a second, subjects were able to report the letters in the indicated row because the image of all the letters was still in sensory memory.