MUHAMMAD ALI JINNAH UNIVERSITY

Short Term Memory

 SUBMITTED BY
MUBASHIR REHMAN
ABDUL WAHAB
ANAS ANSARI
REHMAN
MUSAIB SUMORO
ZAHID
YAWAR
MANOJ KUMAR
ANAS JUNAID
 ABSTRACT

This project report entitled to “Short Term

Memory”. The main objective of the study is to test and
prove U.S. cognitive psychologist George A. Miller’s
experiment of Short-term memory which states that
people tend only to be able to hold, on average, 7 chunks
of information (plus or minus two) in the short-term
memory. The details regarding memory and it’s types.
The various tools used for the study are number
sheet, picture sheet and words sheet. The intention for
these is to analyze the amount of words one can
memorize in a limited period of time given.
The goal of the study is to reach a result of an
average number of 7 (plus or minus 2) which shall be the
ultimate prove towards miller’s theory.
 INTRODUCTION

Memory is the faculty of the brain by which information

is encoded, stored, and retrieved when
needed. Memory is vital to experiences, it is the
retention of information over time for the purpose of
influencing future action.
Memory is the means by which we draw on our past
experiences in order to use this information in the
present' (Sternberg, 1999). Memory is the term given to
the structures and processes involved in the storage and
subsequent retrieval of information. Memory is essential
to all our lives.
OBJECTIVE:

U.S. cognitive psychologist George A. Miller

questioned the limits of the short-term memory’s
capacity. In a renowned 1956 paper published in the
journal Psychological Review, Miller cited the results of
previous memory experiments, concluding that people
tend only to be able to hold, on average, 7 chunks of
information (plus or minus two) in the short-term
memory before needing to further process them for
longer storage. This led to Miller describing the number 7
+/- 2 as a “magical” number in our understanding of
memory.
The objective of this report is to prove Miller’s
Experiment by conducting our own analysis and research
in the university environment and to reach the goal of an
average number of 7 (plus or minus 2), hence validating
and satisfying Miller’s theory.
 MYTHOLOGY

The more you repeat the better.

Many books tell you to review your materials as
often as possible. Fact: Not only frequent repetition is a
waste of your precious time, it may also prevent you
from effectively forming strong memories. The fastest
way to building long-lasting memories is to review your
material in a precisely determined moments of time.

You can only store 7 chunks of information in your

brain.
People tend only to be able to hold, on average, 7
chunks of information (plus or minus two). This
information is not limited to only one letter as we can
also store up to 7 chunks of words too as our brain allows
us to boost the limits of recollection to a list of 7
separate words.

We never forget.
 Some accelerated-learning programs claim that we
never forget what we learn. Knowledge simply gets
"misplaced" and the key to good memory is to figure out
how to dig it out.

Mind maps are always better than pictures.

A picture is worth a thousand words. It is true that
we remember pictures far better than words. It is true
that mind maps are one of the best pictorial
representations of knowledge. Some mnemonists claim
that all we learn should be in the form of a picture or
even a mind map.
 RESULT/DISCUSSION

Doing an experiment in our University in which we

showed different groupings of numbers, words and
picture upto 30 seconds to different people including
students and staff members one by one and then
rewriting the things they remembered for a shot period
of time.
We calculated an average of all the results received
of the things per person remembered and got to a
conclusion of 7.7 which is 7+.
Hence by coming to such a digit, proved U.S.
cognitive psychologist George A. Miller’s Experiment of
Short-Term Memory that people are only able to
remember 7 chunks of information +/- 2.
Therefore, proving miller’s “Magical” number
theory.
 References

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-short-term-memory-
2795348

https://www.supermemo.com/articles/myths.htm

https://www.psychologistworld.com/memory/influential-
memory-psychology-studies-experiment

http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/memory