a cognitive (thinking) process.

...a way of retaining information.

...a number of connected stores.

...actual information retained.

Memory is generally thought to be made up of three parts:

1.      Sensory Register (your senses)

2.      Short-term memory

3.      Long-term memory

Both short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) are studied in terms of their ability to encode (make sense of) information, capacity (how much information) and duration(how long information can be stored).

Conrad (1964) suggested that short-term memory codes all information acoustically, that is, according to sound. Visual information is encoded (transformed) to its acoustic (sound/language) codes.

Shulman (1970) disagreed and thought that short-term memory also coded information visually and according to semantics (meaning).

Heyer and Barrett (1974) suggested that visual images that are difficult to acoustically code may also be stored briefly in short term memory.

Capacity refers to the amount of information that can be stored in the short-term memory.

Miller (1956) suggested that most people store about seven independent or discrete items in short term memory. These items may be numbers, letters or words, etc. Miller referred to each of these items as 'chunks'.

For example: 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 = Seven discrete chunks.

Miller further suggested that the capacity of the short-term memory may be enlarged by grouping items together by associations/links they have with each other.

For example: 1+1 2+2 3+3 4+4 5+5 6+6 7+7 = Seven discrete chunks but combined according to same numbers therefore increasing capacity of short-term memory. Items are chunked according to the meanings they have in long-term memory.

Miller therefore suggested that about seven chunks of information may be stored in short term memory whether in single or combined forms give or take one or two chunks, "The magical number seven plus or minus two"____________ 7 +/- 2.