Regular tests stop at nine items, and it is very rare that someone can regularly hold more items in his short term memory after hearing them once only (telephone numbers are stored in long term memory after being learned). Different experiments find different numbers, but they all range between 3 and 9 (as far as I know). The average (!) capacity for remembering letters or numbers has been shown to be 7 +/- 2. This is a standard subtest in many intelligence tests, e.g. Traditionally the capacity of the working memory is measured by asking subjects to remember a list of items and then counting how many they can repeat. Depending on what you believe the working memory is, you might have to measure it (or its parts) in different ways. Atkinson & Shiffrin) or several systems (e.g. Second, there are different theories regarding how the working memory is made up: one single store (e.g. Other theories don't necessarily have an equivalent for this concept. The working memory is a concept of the information processing theory that likens the human brain to a computer. I am especially interested in standardized procedures with known reliability measuring working memory and giving an estimate of the number of chunks an individual can retain.įirst of all, the existence of a working memory is a theory, not a proven fact. Finally, are abstract visual material and digits more "pure" measures than verbal ones?
Also, is there a reliable measure that can be easily used in online research? I am also interested in measures suitable for laboratory research, though. Therefore, I'm wondering what are the most commonly used methods to measure an healthy individual's working memory capacity. I know that the capacity measured using verbal stimuli is affected by a variety of features of the material. This, however, is precisely what I am interested in. For the latter I have been unable to find out whether it offers an estimate of the number of items which can be held in working memory. I have come across a couple of ways to measure working memory such as the delayed match-to-sample task, Dual N-back task or the Wechsler Memory Scale. The number of items or chunks a person can retain in their memory may, have profound effects on a variety of other cognitive processes, such as problem solving. The capacity of human working memory is subject to individual differences.
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