A theory of memory for binary sequences: Evidence for a mental compression algorithm in humans.

ABSTRACT: Working memory capacity can be improved by recoding the memorized information in a condensed form. Here, we tested the theory that human adults encode binary sequences of stimuli in memory using an abstract internal language and a recursive compression algorithm. The theory predicts that the psychological complexity of a given sequence should be proportional to the length of its shortest description in the proposed language, which can capture any nested pattern of repetitions and alternations using a limited number of instructions. Five experiments examine the capacity of the theory to predict human adults' memory for a variety of auditory and visual sequences. We probed memory using a sequence violation paradigm in which participants attempted to detect occasional violations in an otherwi

SUBMITTER: Planton S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7845997 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature