Miller

• What did Miller(1956) research

  memory span
• what did Miller note about everyday life

  Miller noted that things come in 7s

  e.g. days of the week, seven deadly sins
• what is the span of memory

  7+/-2 items
• what else did miller note about memory span

  we are able to recall five letters as easily as recalling five numbers

  this is done by chunking
• what is chunking

  group sets of digits or letters into units or chunks
• strengths of Miller

  high internal validity (controlled)

  support from Jacob's 1887 study
• limitations of Miller

  he may have overestimated stm capacity

  Cowan(2001)- reviewed other research and concluded that capacity of stm is 4+/-2