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George Miller is best known for an article he wrote that defined the capacity fo

ID: 3467205 • Letter: G

Question

George Miller is best known for an article he wrote that defined the capacity for short-term memory (also called working memory). According to Miller that capacity is:

Variable, depending on a person’s verbal intelligence.

Unlimited.

Variable, depending on how much practice a person has with memory improvement techniques.

Seven, plus or minus two.

a.

Variable, depending on a person’s verbal intelligence.

b.

Unlimited.

c.

Variable, depending on how much practice a person has with memory improvement techniques.

d.

Seven, plus or minus two.

Explanation / Answer

Answer: d

This is from the article "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information" by George Miller, a brilliant cognitive psychologist. He proposed that short term memory can store seven plus or minus two bits of information. That's the capacity of the working memory.