![]() ![]() For example, age could also affect short-term memory and Jacobs (1887) research acknowledged that short-term memory gradually improved with age. Consequently, further research is required to determine the each size of information ‘chunks’ to understand the exact capacity of short-term memory.įinally, Miller’s (1956) research into short-term memory did not take into account other factors that affect capacity. Jacobs found that the student had an average span of 7.3 letters and 9.3 words, which supports Miller’s notion of 7+/-2.Īlthough Miller’s (1956) theory is supported by psychological research, he did not specify how large each ‘chunk’ of information could be and therefore we are unable to conclude the exact capacity of short-term memory. Participants had to repeat back a string of numbers or letters in the same order and the number of digits/letters was gradually increased, until the participants could no longer recall the sequence. Thus, in 4-span trials contiguous numbers were placed in either the first and. 19, 20, 4- and 5-span trials were constructed so that contiguous numbers were placed in strategic positions. Jacobs used a sample of 443 female students (aged from 8-19) from the North London Collegiate School. The BDT is comprised of seven trials of 3-, 4-, and 5-digit span lengths for a total of 21 trials. For example, Jacobs (1887) conducted an experiment using a digit span test, to examine the capacity of short-term memory for numbers and letters. Miller’s (1956) theory is supported by psychological research. When we try to remember a phone number, which has 11 digits, we chunk the information into groups, for example: 0767…819…45…34, so we only need to remember four chunks of information and not 11 individual digits. This can explain why we are able recall items like mobile phone numbers, which contain more than 7 digits. Miller believed that our short-term memory stores ‘chunks’ of information rather than individual numbers or letters. He said that we can hold seven 'items' in short-term memory, plus or minus two. Miller (1956) published a famous article entitled ‘ The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two’ in which he reviewed existing research into short-term memory. ![]()
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