Information first enters and is briefly held in basic-feature form in the _____.

• A. Sensory store
• B. Short-term store
• C. Working memory
• D. Long-term store

Answer: (A)

Information first enters sensory memory, a brief register that holds raw sensory data in its original features—colors, sounds, textures—before any meaning is assigned. This stage preserves basic-feature form for a moment (iconic memory for visual input, echoic memory for auditory input), so the information is available just long enough to be noticed and attended to. If attention is paid, it can move on to short-term memory for further processing; if not, it fades away. Short-term memory stores a limited amount of information for seconds and begins encoding it for longer-term storage, while working memory is the active system that manipulates that information, and long-term store holds information for extended periods. Because the question describes the initial, raw-entry stage that preserves sensory features briefly, sensory memory is the best fit.