This idea was put forward by miller 1956 and he called it the magic number 7. It supposedly argues that the number of objects an average human can hold in working memory is 7 2. Some limits on our capacity for processing information is a wellknown article written by the late. Miller 19202012 my problem is that i have been persecuted by an integer. But miller is bestknown to technical writers for his magical number 7, plus or minus two. Miller, george 1956 the magical number seven, plus or minus two. Some limits on our capacity for processing information in 1956 and is one of the most highly cited papers in psychology. Some limits on our capacity for processing information author. Miller of harvard university s department of psychology. Introduction to our project testing millers magic number seven.
Oct 21, 2017 in 1956 a very good year, by the way, psychologist george miller published a paper entitled the magical number seven, plus or minus two. Though influential in several ways, for about 40 years it was oddly followed by rather little research on the numerical limit of capacity in working memory, or on the relation between three potentially related phenomena that miller. However, that number was meant more as a rough estimate and a rhetorical device than as a real capacity limit. Some limits on our capacity for processing information miller showed a number of remarkable coincidences between the channel capacity of a. For seven years this number has followed me around, has intruded in my most private data, and has assaulted me from the pages. The magical number seven, plus or minus two some limits. We can hold 7 plus or minus 2 separate bits of information consciously at any one time. In the psychology of information processing the number 7 is a somewhat magical invariant. He had read the paper before the eastern psychological association on april 15, 1955.
Short term memory or attention span is limited to seven chunks of information. The magical number seven, plus or minus two psyblog. Preparation of the paper was supported by the harvard psychoacoustic. The magic number seven is the number of chunks of information a person can hold in working memory at the same time.
Miller examined shortterm memory tasks and found that typical. It argues that the number of objects an average human can consciously process at any one time is 7 2. In a famous some might say infamous 1956 paper, miller summarized the results of his research and that of other psychologists on working shortterm memory as follows. It appears that millers seven plus or minus two is indeed a limit, a channel capacity on our ability to process information. George millers influence on his colleagues, students, and the field of cognitive psychology is immeasurable. Some limits on our capacity for processing information by george a. Version of the paper with figures adapted for html and proofread and approved by miller in 1997 indepth discussion on many myths around millers paper at edward tuftes site. Some limits on our capacity for processing information miller showed a number of remarkable coincidences between the channel capacity of a number of human cognitive and perceptual tasks. George millers magical number 7, novice law students and millers real legacy todays ny times science section featured a story entitled seven isnt the magic number for shortterm memory on psychologists george miller classical paper on the limits of humans shortterm memory. Some limits on our capacity for processing information 1. After quoting previous works, miller reached some important conclusions.
Others have since suggested that there is a more precise capacity limit, but that it is only three to five chunks. Based on millers famous magical number seven, plus or minus two his suggestion for the normal capacity of human memory shortterm memory can only hold a limited amount of information. In 1956 a very good year, by the way, psychologist george miller published a paper entitled the magical number seven, plus or minus two. The magical number seven, plus or minus two refers to the capacity of. Miller discovered in 1956 that the number 7 2 seems to be the amount of elements digits, letters, words or other units that the working memory can handle. Miller examined shortterm memory tasks and found that typical subjects could hold about 7 chunks in memory at once. He had been tasked to empirically find how many random digits a person could remember at any time, so ma bell could figure out how many numbers to. What this magical number represents 7 plus or minus 2 is the number of items we can hold in our shortterm memory. Miller s 1956 article about storage capacity limits, the magical number seven plus or minus two, is one of the bestknown articles in psychology.
According to miller 1956 it manifests itself as a constraint of the span. Miller harvard university this paper was first read as an invited address before the eastern psychological association in philadelphia on april 15, 1955. Miller, the magical number seven, plus or minus two. Miller believed that our shortterm memory stores chunks of information rather than individual numbers or letters. According to miller 1956, the human working memory originally called immediate memory has a capacity of 7 2 items or chunks. Though influential in several ways, for about 40 years it was oddly followed by rather little research on the numerical limit of capacity in working memory, or on the relation between. The magical number seven the magical number seven bruce l. Some limits on our capacity for processing information 1956, miller proposed as a law of human cognition and information processing that humans can effectively process no more than seven units, or chunks, of information, plus or minus read more. People only have a finite amount of information that they can process and remember at any one time. He said that we can hold seven items in shortterm memory, plus or minus two. Some limits on our capacity for processing information george a.
The mythical, magical number 7 in technical writing. Nov 28, 2012 four is the magic number for our mind coping with information. Miller of harvard universitys department of psychology. The magic number 7 plus or minus two provides evidence for the capacity of short term memory.
Magic number 7 the magic number 7 is a paper written by a cognitive psychologist george miller. Indeed, the deep point of millers paper is to suggest strategies, such as placing information within a context, that extend the reach of memory beyond tiny clumps of data. In 1956 american cognitive psychologist george armitage miller, then teaching at harvard, published the magical number seven, plus or minus two. So begins one of the bestknown papers in the history of psychology, the magical number seven, plus or minus two. Stimuli that are identified perfectly as part of a set of four or five are confused when they are part of a larger set. Jan 06, 20 introduction to our project testing miller s magic number seven. In a second type of task that miller discussed, absolute judgment. The magical number seven, plus or minus two how memory. He is listed as number 20 on the american psychological associations list of the 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century. Why the magic number seven plus or minus two sciencedirect. George millers magical number of immediate memory in. Miller published a wellknown article that, in the years that followed, influenced many of the basic paradigms of cognitive pyschology.
The seminal 1956 george miller paper the magical number seven, plus or minus two. The legend of the magical num ber seven, page 20 more easily recognized when they consist of fewer objects because, as the number of objects in the display increases, the number of distinguishable. Millers 1956 article about storage capacity limits, the magical number seven plus or minus two, is one of the bestknown articles in. By organizing the stimulus input simultaneously into several dimensions and successively into a sequence or chunks, we manage to break or at least stretch this informational bottleneck. Miller s 1956 article about storage capacity limits, the magical number seven plus or minus two. Some limits on our capacity for processing information is a true classic. Miller 1956 summarized evidence that people can remember about seven chunks in shortterm memory stm tasks. First, the span of absolute judgment and the span of immediate memory impose severe limitations on the amount of information that we are able to receive, process, and remember.
The magical number seven, plus or minus two wikipedia. Jul 05, 2010 magical number seven, by george miller 1. Millers 1956 article about storage capacity limits, the magical number seven plus or minus two, is one of the bestknown articles in psychology. Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Miller published the magical number seven, plus or minus two. The magical number seven in language and cognition. Aug 14, 2006 the seminal 1956 george miller paper the magical number seven, plus or minus two.
George millers magical number of immediate memory in retrospect. Therefore, there is nothing magical about the number seven, and miller. Displacement theory attempts to explain how we forget information in shortterm memory. Miller first presents his theory of the magical number sever, plus or minus two, in. The magical number seven, plus or minus two some limits on our. Most adults can store between 5 and 9 items in their shortterm memory.
Miller in 1956 the magical number seven, plus or minus two. Pdf millers 1956 article about storage capacity limits, the magical number seven plus or minus two. Planning in the form of tote units is a fundamental cognitive process. Millers 1956 article about storage capacity limits, the magical number seven plus or minus two. Four is the magic number for our mind coping with information. For example, shortterm memory can be used to remember a phone number that has just been recited. Shortterm memory or primary or active memory is the capacity for holding, but not manipulating, a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time. Miller harvard university my problem is that i have been persecuted by an integer. Pdf george millers magical number of immediate memory in. From figure 2, we conclude that to serve both consistency and redundancy, it is best to keep the number of elements seven or less. Some limits on our capacity for processing information is one of the most highly cited papers in psychology.
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