What is the approximate capacity of our short-term memory ________________ items?
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Answer: C. 7
Explanation
George Miller demonstrated through rigorous testing that human working memory has strict capacity limits. The classic psychological finding centers around storing approximately seven distinct items at once. Experimental memory span tasks consistently reveal this limitation in healthy adult human participants. Short term memory holds temporary information for brief durations without active cognitive rehearsal. The famous paper by Miller is titled The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two. Chunking information can effectively expand the amount of material retained within working memory.
Understanding memory capacity helps educators design effective instructional materials for students. Phone numbers were historically structured around seven digits to fit human memory limits. Cognitive load theory relies on understanding these fundamental constraints of human information processing. Two items represents an excessively low estimate that ignores standard human memory capabilities. Five items falls below the well-established average established by classic cognitive research studies. Ten items exceeds the typical upper boundary of unassisted short term memory retention capacity.
- Subject
- Psychology
- Category
- Psychology
- Topic
- —
- Difficulty
- medium
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