Magical numbers: the seven-plus-or-minus-two myth

Abstract

Ask any specialist of professional communication how many items we can hold in short-term memory: almost certainly, he or she will answer seven (possibly, seven plus or minus two). Ask that person where this answer comes from: very likely, he or she will refer to an article published almost fifty years ago in Psychological Review (G.A. Miller, 1956). Equally likely, however, he or she will never have read this article and will happily go on quoting it out of context. The article denounces the seven-plus-or-minus-two myth. It first reviews George Miller's original paper, placing the limit of seven in a proper perspective and drawing other, possibly more useful lessons from the research presented. Next, it explores the guiding value of integers below seven and proposes other, equally magical, but more pragmatic limits for effective professional communication.