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. Jacobs used a sample of 443 female students (aged from 8-19) from the North London Collegiate School. 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. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28, 361.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. Digit span in right and left hemiplegics. Weinberg, J., Diller, L., Gerstman, L., & Schulman, L. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation. The Wechsler adult intelligence scale-III. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Corporation. The measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence (3rd ed.). The measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence (1st ed.). The measurement of intelligence: An explanation of and a complete guide for the use of the Stanford revision and extension of the Binet-Simon intelligence scale. Relation of forward and backward digit repetition to neurological impairment in children with learning disabilities. Measurements of short-term memory: A historical review. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 12, 29–40. Forward and backward memory span should not be combined for clinical analysis. Separate digits tests: A brief history, a literature review, and a reexamination of the factor structure of the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. The Clinical Neuropsychologist – Vascular Dementia Special Edition, 18, 83–100. From Binswanger’s disease to Leukoaraiosis: What we have learned about subcortical vascular dementia. Alterations in working memory as a function of leukoaraiosis in dementia. Capacity to maintain mental set in dementia. The impact of region-specific leukoaraiosis on working memory deficits in dementia. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation. The WAIS-R as a neuropsychological instrument. Kaplan, E., Fein, D., Morris, R., & Delis, D. Washington, DC: The American Psychological Association. Bryant (Eds.), Clinical neuropsychology and brain function: Research, measurement, and practice: Master lectures. A process approach to neuropsychological assessment. Mechanism in thought and morals: An address delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard University, June 29, 1870, with notes and afterthoughts. Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology (Ruger HA and Bussenius CE, Trans) (Original work published in 1885). Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, 17, 74–83.Įbbinghaus, H. Clock drawing errors in dementia: Neuropsychological and neuroanatomic considerations. Bower, The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory (vol.
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