What is chunking and what role does it play in short-term memory?
AGrouping smaller units into larger meaningful chunks to expand STM capacity
BSplitting larger units into smaller letters to slow STM decay over time
CReplacing sound coding with visual coding inside sensory memory
DReplacing semantic coding with phonetic coding inside long-term memory
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Grouping smaller units into larger meaningful chunks to expand STM capacity
1. STM has a limited span often described as the magical number seven plus or minus two.
2. Chunking is the control process that operates on STM to expand its effective capacity.
3. It combines several smaller units into larger meaningful units called chunks.
4. The chapter illustrates this by grouping 194719492004 into the years 1947, 1949 and 2004.
5. Hence chunking expands STM capacity by grouping smaller units into bigger meaningful blocks.
_Source: NCERT Class 11 Psychology Ch 6 "Human Memory", p. 99, Information Processing Approach_
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