The limit of remembering only 4 things at once

There appears to be a growing body of research showing humans can only keep about 3 to 5 items in their working memory when not allowed to use tricks, like repeating items over and over or grouping items together.

(Working memory is a more active version of short-term memory, which refers to the temporary storage of information. Working memory relates to the information we can pay attention to and manipulate.)

See for example:

• The Magical Mystery Four: How is Working Memory Capacity Limited, and Why?
• The Magical Number 4 in Short-Term Memory: A Reconsideration of Mental Storage Capacity