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Span, memory: The number of items, usually words or numbers, that a person can retain and recall. Memory span is a test of working memory (short-term memory). In a typical test of memory span, an examiner reads a list of random numbers aloud at about the rate of one number per second. At the end of a sequence, the person being tested is asked to recall the items in order. The average span for normal adults is 7.
In running memory span, a list ends unpredictably and the last few items are to be recalled. This task is of increasing importance in recent research.
In the neurosciences, memory span is the number of items, usually words or numbers, that a person can retain and recall. Where numbers are used it is also known as digit ...
Memory span: The number of items, usually words or numbers, that a person can retain and recall. Memory span is a test of working memory (short-term memory).
Recent work suggests that working memory span (WMS) tasks are not simple measures of the capacity to simultaneously store and process new information.
World English Dictionary memory span — n psychol the capacity of short-term memory, usually between 5 and 10 items