Miller Psychology
Psychology Homework
Miller (1956)
Term chunking was introduced in 1956 by George A. Miller. Knows to be called the Magical Number 7 + or - 2.
Chucking breaks long strings of information such as letters or numbers into chunks.
It has been found that breaking information into chunks or units can get remembered easier than long piece of information.
An easy example can be a phone number.
+447548508764 – Without chunking it’s hard to remember.
+44 7548 508764 – When it broken down into more logical chunks it’s easier to remember.
(+44) 7548-508764 – The additional symbols can make the process of remembering even more easier, therefore effective.
Miller has found that we can remember 7 +/-2 chunks of information, that’s why we break information down to remember it easier or we can even encode information into our memory storage.
Another example of breaking information into chunks can be the birth date.
Instead of saying you were born on the 10061998 you say 10 06 1998.
We also add symbols once again to make it even more effective to remember: 10/06/1998.
To test Millers hypothesis which he made at the beginning he has made experiments on individuals. Tests where individuals can demonstrate chunking which include serial and free recall.
George Miller said that humans can retain 5 to 9 pieces of information in their short-term memory. The short-term memory processes and stores information for about 20 to 30 seconds. Afterwards, depending on the concentration of the person, the short-term memory information can move to the long-term memory or lost all together. Rehearsing helps to move the information from short-term memory to long-term memory. Chunking is a way to increase the capacity of short-term
Miller (1956)
Term chunking was introduced in 1956 by George A. Miller. Knows to be called the Magical Number 7 + or - 2.
Chucking breaks long strings of information such as letters or numbers into chunks.
It has been found that breaking information into chunks or units can get remembered easier than long piece of information.
An easy example can be a phone number.
+447548508764 – Without chunking it’s hard to remember.
+44 7548 508764 – When it broken down into more logical chunks it’s easier to remember.
(+44) 7548-508764 – The additional symbols can make the process of remembering even more easier, therefore effective.
Miller has found that we can remember 7 +/-2 chunks of information, that’s why we break information down to remember it easier or we can even encode information into our memory storage.
Another example of breaking information into chunks can be the birth date.
Instead of saying you were born on the 10061998 you say 10 06 1998.
We also add symbols once again to make it even more effective to remember: 10/06/1998.
To test Millers hypothesis which he made at the beginning he has made experiments on individuals. Tests where individuals can demonstrate chunking which include serial and free recall.
George Miller said that humans can retain 5 to 9 pieces of information in their short-term memory. The short-term memory processes and stores information for about 20 to 30 seconds. Afterwards, depending on the concentration of the person, the short-term memory information can move to the long-term memory or lost all together. Rehearsing helps to move the information from short-term memory to long-term memory. Chunking is a way to increase the capacity of short-term