ABSTRACT
It is striking that we have such a modest short-term memory (STM) capacity. Miller (1956) determined that we could hold in this temporary memory about seven “chunks” of information. If one were holding, say, numbers in memory then 15 could be held as two chunks, “1” and “5” or as a single chunk “15.” We cluster, or chunk, information to make better use of this modest capacity. Compared with modern information processing devices, such as even the simplest of pocket calculators, this is a frugal capacity and yet we have cognitive capabilities that allow us to engage with very complex tasks. The cognitive capacities required to execute complex work tasks fall under the subject matter of cognitive ergonomics. Such tasks undoubtedly require acquired skills residing in long-term memory but, in addition, we make use of our STM capacity by processing in real time.
