A student has taken a summer job answering telephone calls for sales orders. He quickly learns that it is pretty easy to remember a customer's five-digit ZIP code and seven-digit phone number, but it is much more difficult to keep track of a sixteen-digit credit card number. According to the conclusions of researcher George Miller, the student is having trouble with longer strings of numbers because

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

George Miller's research concluded that the average memory span for adults is between five to nine items, which explains why the student can remember shorter strings of numbers (like ZIP codes and phone numbers) more easily than the longer sixteen-digit credit card numbers.  This characterizes people's performance on memory tasks involving random lists of numbers, letters, words, or almost any other kind of familiar or meaningful item.

A Student Has Taken a Summer Job Answering Telephone Calls