Capacity

Question 1

Define capacity

Answer 1

the amount of information that can be held in a memory store.

Question 2

Why is the capacity for iconic memory high?

Answer 2

there is over 100 million cells/receptors in the human eye, meaning a lot of visual information can be taken in at once.

Question 3

What was the method for Jacob’s digit span test (1887)?

Answer 3

1.) researcher reads out 3 digits.
2.) participants recall out loud in the same order.
3.) if correct, the researcher goes up to 4 digits etc, until participants recall in the incorrect order.
4.) this indicates the individuals digit span.

Question 4

In Jacob’s experiment, what was the mean span for digits and letters?

Answer 4

the mean span for digits was 9.3 and the mean span for letters was 7.3.

Question 5

Has Jacob’s research ever been replicated?

Answer 5

on multiple occasions, including by Bopp and Verhaegen in 2005. this shows reliability and consistency.

Question 6

What did Miller propose was the ‘magic number’ for STM capacity in 1956?

Answer 6

7 +/- 2

Question 7

What is chunking?

Answer 7

Miller noted that 5 words could be remembered as easily as 5 individual digits. He called this phenomenon chunking.

Question 8

Has Miller’s research ever been replicated?

Answer 8

Cowan (2001) reviewed the research into the capacity of STM, and concluded that the capacity is only 4 +/-1. This could either suggest that Miller’s conclusions were wrong, or that average STM capacity has declined over time.