The magical number 4 = 7: Span theory on capacity limitations

Behavioral and Brain Sciences 24 (1):116-117 (2001)
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Abstract

According to span theory, a behavioral theory of the magical numbers, Cowan's 4 and Miller's 7 are simply two different points on the same ogive describing the relation between performance and span load, a fundamental task characteristic. Span theory explains the magical numbers in terms of a unitary limited span ability, a mathematical abstraction from that ogive.

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10.1017/s0140525x01243921

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