seven plus or minus two

the number of items that can be held in short-term memory at any given time and therefore accurately perceived and recalled after a brief exposure (see chunking). The phrase originated in the title of an article (1956) by George Armitage Miller, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limitations on Our Capacity for Processing Information.”

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

December 22nd 2024

theobromine

n. a methylxanthine alkaloid that occurs naturally in the seeds of Theobroma cacao, the cocoa plant. Theobromine is structurally similar to caffeine in coffee and theophylline in tea but has less pharmacological potency than either of these methylxanthines.