The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity
Cowan, sole author. A target article assembling existing data rather than a new experiment, arguing that Miller's seven was meant as a rough estimate and a rhetorical device, and that pure short-term storage capacity averages about four chunks. Cowan sets out the conditions under which that limit is visible, including information overload that restricts chunks to single items and blocked recoding, conditions an ordinary consumer interface does not meet.
Cowan, sole author. A target article assembling existing data rather than a new experiment, arguing that Miller's seven was meant as a rough estimate and a rhetorical device, and that pure short-term storage capacity averages about four chunks. Cowan sets out the conditions under which that limit is visible, including information overload that restricts chunks to single items and blocked recoding, conditions an ordinary consumer interface does not meet.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-18.
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
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. doi:10.1017/s0140525x01003922.