Seven plus or minus two

Definition

This concept, proposed by psychologist George Miller, refers to the average number of items that the short-term memory can hold at once. It suggests that individuals can typically remember around 7 (plus or minus 2) pieces of information in their short-term memory.

Related terms

Chunking:

This is a technique used to increase the capacity of short-term memory by organizing individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units.

Working Memory:

This term refers to the system responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information while performing mental tasks.

Long-Term Memory: This is the part of our memory system where information is stored for an extended period, potentially indefinitely.