Under high stress, victims recall events primarily through which memory type?

Under high stress, victims recall events primarily through which memory type?

• A. Sensory Memory
• B. Working Memory
• C. Long-Term Semantic Memory
• D. Procedural Memory

Answer: (A)

When stress is extreme, the brain locks onto raw sensory input from the moment, creating brief, perceptual impressions that survive as sensory memory. These immediate, unprocessed details—what was seen, heard, or smelled at the time—become the most accessible traces later, so recall is dominated by those sensory imprints. Other memory systems handle different kinds of information: working memory is the mental workspace used during ongoing processing, long-term semantic memory stores general facts, and procedural memory stores skills and how-tos. In the context of recalling a highly stressful event, the vividness and immediacy of sensory impressions make sensory memory the primary source for reconstruction of what happened.

When stress is extreme, the brain locks onto raw sensory input from the moment, creating brief, perceptual impressions that survive as sensory memory. These immediate, unprocessed details—what was seen, heard, or smelled at the time—become the most accessible traces later, so recall is dominated by those sensory imprints. Other memory systems handle different kinds of information: working memory is the mental workspace used during ongoing processing, long-term semantic memory stores general facts, and procedural memory stores skills and how-tos. In the context of recalling a highly stressful event, the vividness and immediacy of sensory impressions make sensory memory the primary source for reconstruction of what happened.