Capacity of Memory AO3

• +Jacobs study has been replicated. The studly is a fairly old one and early research in psychology lacked adequate controls. Some participants digit spans might’ve been underestimated because they were distracted during testing (confounding variable). Despite this , Jacobs study findings have been confirmed by better controlled studies since such as Bopp & Verhaeghen. This suggests that Jacobs study is a valid test of digit span in STM.
• -Miller may've overestimated STM capacity. Cowan reviewed other research and concluded that the capacity of STM is only about 4+-1 chunks and not 7+-2 as Miller suggested. This suggests that the lower end of Miller's estimation - 5 items - is more appropriate than 7 items.