The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two

"The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information"^[1] is one of the most highly cited papers in psychology.^[2]^[3]^[4] It was written by the cognitive psychologist George A. Miller of Harvard University's Department of Psychology and published in 1956 in Psychological Review. It is often interpreted to argue that the number of objects an average human can hold in short-term memory is 7 ± 2. This has occasionally been referred to as Miller's law.^[5]^[6]^[7]

^ Miller, G. A. (1956). "The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information". Psychological Review. 63 (2): 81–97. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.308.8071. doi:10.1037/h0043158. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-002C-4646-B. PMID 13310704. S2CID 15654531.
^ Gorenflo, Daniel; McConnell, James (1991). "The Most Frequently Cited Journal Articles and Authors in Introductory Psychology Textbooks". Teaching of Psychology. 18: 8–12. doi:10.1207/s15328023top1801_2. S2CID 145217739.
^ Kintsch, Walter; Cacioppo, John T. (1994). "Introduction to the 100th anniversary issue of the Psychological Review" (PDF). Psychological Review. 101 (2): 195–9. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.101.2.195. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016.
^ Garfield, Eugene (1985). "The Articles most cited in the SCI from 1961 to 1982. 7. Another 100 Citation Classics: The Watson-Crick Double Helix has its turn" (PDF). Essays of an Information Scientist: 1985, Ghost writing and other essays. Philadelphia: ISI Press. pp. 187–96. ISBN 978-0-89495-000-1.
^ "Miller's Law". changingminds.org. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
^ Boag, Simon; Brakel, Linda A. W.; Talvitie, Vesa (November 8, 2018). Philosophy, Science, and Psychoanalysis: A Critical Meeting. Karnac Books. ISBN 978-1-78049-189-9. Retrieved November 8, 2018 – via Google Books.
^ Talvitie, Vesa (November 8, 2018). The Foundations of Psychoanalytic Theories: Project for a Scientific Enough Psychoanalysis. Karnac Books. ISBN 978-1-85575-817-9. Retrieved November 8, 2018 – via Google Books.

[1] Miller, G. A. (1956). "The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information". Psychological Review. 63 (2): 81–97. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.308.8071. doi:10.1037/h0043158. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-002C-4646-B. PMID 13310704. S2CID 15654531.

[2] Gorenflo, Daniel; McConnell, James (1991). "The Most Frequently Cited Journal Articles and Authors in Introductory Psychology Textbooks". Teaching of Psychology. 18: 8–12. doi:10.1207/s15328023top1801_2. S2CID 145217739.

[3] Kintsch, Walter; Cacioppo, John T. (1994). "Introduction to the 100th anniversary issue of the Psychological Review" (PDF). Psychological Review. 101 (2): 195–9. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.101.2.195. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016.

[4] Garfield, Eugene (1985). "The Articles most cited in the SCI from 1961 to 1982. 7. Another 100 Citation Classics: The Watson-Crick Double Helix has its turn" (PDF). Essays of an Information Scientist: 1985, Ghost writing and other essays. Philadelphia: ISI Press. pp. 187–96. ISBN 978-0-89495-000-1.

[5] "Miller's Law". changingminds.org. Retrieved November 8, 2018.

[6] Boag, Simon; Brakel, Linda A. W.; Talvitie, Vesa (November 8, 2018). Philosophy, Science, and Psychoanalysis: A Critical Meeting. Karnac Books. ISBN 978-1-78049-189-9. Retrieved November 8, 2018 – via Google Books.

[7] Talvitie, Vesa (November 8, 2018). The Foundations of Psychoanalytic Theories: Project for a Scientific Enough Psychoanalysis. Karnac Books. ISBN 978-1-85575-817-9. Retrieved November 8, 2018 – via Google Books.

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