---
type: permanent
status: mature
created: "2026-01-14"
description: "Grouping information into meaningful units expands effective working memory capacity"
tags:
  - memory
  - information-processing
  - expertise
---

# Chunking

Chunking is the process of grouping individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units ("chunks"). By compressing information, chunking effectively expands the functional capacity of [[Working Memory]].

## Examples

- A chess expert sees board positions as meaningful configurations, not 32 individual pieces
- A musician reads sheet music in phrases, not individual notes
- Phone numbers are grouped: 020-7946-0958 is three chunks, not eleven digits

## How Chunking Works

1. Pattern recognition identifies relationships between elements
2. Related elements are bound into a single representational unit
3. The chunk occupies one slot in [[Working Memory]] instead of many
4. With practice, chunks become automated [[Schema Theory]] structures

## Implications

- Expertise is largely the accumulation of rich chunk libraries ([[Deliberate Practice]] builds these)
- Instructional design should present information in chunk-friendly formats (see [[Cognitive Load Theory]])
- New learners lack chunks and experience higher cognitive load on the same material

## Connections

- Directly extends [[Working Memory]] capacity
- [[Schema Theory]] describes how chunks become automated knowledge structures
- [[Cognitive Load Theory]] uses chunking to manage intrinsic load
- [[Deliberate Practice]] is the mechanism for building expert-level chunks
- Relates to [[Elaborative Interrogation]] -- explaining connections helps form chunks

#memory #information-processing #expertise
