The magical number 4 in short-term memory¶
Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(1), 87-114.
Cited by¶
2 citations across 2 artifacts.
Each citation links to the sentence it supports in the citing article.
Primes¶
- Chunking
- The group is encoded, stored, and retrieved as a single unit (one entry in working memory, one unit in motor rehearsal, one referent in discussion) rather than as a list of parts; this is the recognition-based retrieval mechanism. Working-memory efficiency.
This sourceReanalyses immediate-memory capacity as ~4 chunks under chunking-controlled conditions.
- The group is encoded, stored, and retrieved as a single unit (one entry in working memory, one unit in motor rehearsal, one referent in discussion) rather than as a list of parts; this is the recognition-based retrieval mechanism. Working-memory efficiency.
Domain-specific¶
- Cognitive Load
- Cognitive load is the working-memory budget — the total mental effort required to process information at a given moment, constrained by working-memory capacity (approximately four chunks per Cowan 2001).
This sourceReanalyzes immediate-memory capacity as ~4 chunks under chunking-controlled conditions.
- Cognitive load is the working-memory budget — the total mental effort required to process information at a given moment, constrained by working-memory capacity (approximately four chunks per Cowan 2001).
Verification¶
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