We propose that the isomorphism generally observed between the representations
composing our momentary phenomenal experience and the structure of the world is the end …

Miller (1956) summarized evidence that people can remember about seven chunks in short-
term memory (STM) tasks. However, that number was meant more as a rough estimate and …

Commentators expressed a wide variety of views on whether there is a basic capacity limit of
3 to 5 chunks and, among those who believe in it, about why it occurs. In this response, I …

Cowan's revisiting of the magic number is very timely and the case he makes for a more
moderate number than seven is persuasive. It is also appropriate to frame his case within a …

Abstract JF Herbart (1824/1890b) provided a mathematical theory about how mental ideas
(Vorstellungen) in consciousness at Time 1 (T1) could compete, possibly driving 1 or more …

The aim of our commentary is to strengthen Cowan's proposal for an inherent capacity
limitation in STM by suggesting a neurobiological mechanism based on competitive …

Cowan assumes that chunk-based capacity limits are synonymous with the essence of a
“specialized STM mechanism.” In a single experiment, we measured the capacity, or span …

In a series of experiments on immediate probed recognition for eight 3-digit numbers, it was
shown that if the target modality involved auditory components and the effect of the similarity …

In the 30 years following its fullest presentation in 1824, the mathematical psychology of JF
Herbart (1776–1841) was widely taught and often favorably discussed by scholars such as …

Some of the evidence for a “magical number 4” has come from the study of visual cognition,
and Cowan reinterprets such evidence in terms of a single general limit on memory and …