Working memory capacity is commonly expressed as 7 plus or minus 2 chunks. Which option reflects that?

Working memory capacity is commonly expressed as 7 plus or minus 2 chunks. Which option reflects that?

• A. 7+/ - 2 chunks
• B. 3-4 chunks
• C. 5-6 chunks
• D. 9-10 chunks

Answer: (A)

Working memory capacity is commonly described as seven chunks, plus or minus two. A chunk is a meaningful unit of information that you group together to make it easier to hold in memory. By organizing data into chunks, you can remember more items than if you treated each item separately. This framing matches the option that expresses the 7 ± 2 idea exactly. In practice, that means about five to nine chunks can be held at once, depending on the task and how information is organized. The other ranges don’t match this widely cited estimate.

Working memory capacity is commonly described as seven chunks, plus or minus two. A chunk is a meaningful unit of information that you group together to make it easier to hold in memory. By organizing data into chunks, you can remember more items than if you treated each item separately. This framing matches the option that expresses the 7 ± 2 idea exactly. In practice, that means about five to nine chunks can be held at once, depending on the task and how information is organized. The other ranges don’t match this widely cited estimate.