Question 10

Seven items on a short-term memory list

In George Miller's paper 'The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two', the number seven refers to the capacity of short-term memory, specifically that individuals can hold about seven items in their working memory.

A) Seven seconds to recall a specific event

This option is incorrect as Miller's research does not focus on the duration of memory recall but rather on the quantity of information that can be retained in short-term memory. The emphasis is on the number of items, not the time taken to recall them.

B) Seven bytes of information in a computer

This choice is also incorrect because Miller's discussion pertains to human memory, not computer memory. The concept of bytes relates to digital information storage, which is not the subject of Miller's findings.

C) Seven models of short-term memory

This option is incorrect as there are no specific "seven models" of short-term memory described by Miller. His research highlights the limitation in the number of items that can be processed, rather than proposing multiple models of memory.

D) Seven items on a short-term memory list

This is the correct answer. Miller identified that the average number of items a person can hold in their short-term memory is about seven, which is crucial for understanding cognitive limitations in information processing.

Conclusion

The correct answer, seven items on a short-term memory list, accurately reflects the core finding of Miller's study regarding the limitations of human memory capacity. The other options either misinterpret the original research focus or introduce unrelated concepts, confirming that they do not align with the foundational ideas presented by Miller.