Miller - capacity of STM

• Capacity


  The maximum amount of information that can be retained in memory
• Short-Term Memory (STM)


  • Miller's famous 1956 publication reviewing STM research - "The Magical Number Seven" - concluded that adult STM capacity averages around 7 (plus or minus two) items
  • Capacity can be increased through 'chunking' - converting a string of items into a number of larger, more memorable 'chunks' (e.g. number 343565787 to 343 565 787), thus increasing capacity to an average of 7 'chunks'
• Long-Term Memory (LTM)

  • Assumed to have an unlimited capacity, as no research has been able to measure a finite number to date (plus, it would be very difficult to)