The Digit Span is quite likely the most popular and well-known test in all of psychology. The task works in the following way: A series of numbers are shown one by one. After the total span of digits is displayed, you are prompted to enter the numbers in the exact order that they appeared. If you answer correctly, the digit span task is repeated again for another round, but this time an extra number is added to the span!

The goal is to remember as many digits as possible. Our version of the Digit Span allows three mistakes before the game ends. Ultimately, the highest number of digits remembered is the final score. Curious to know how many numbers a typical person can correctly recall? Stay tuned as the fascinating answer is revealed later in this guide.

There are a handful of variations of the Digit Span, which fall under a broader category of tasks known simply as "memory span". For instance, a memory span test can involve letters or even entire words instead of numbers. As one might imagine, memory span tasks that are limited to only the 10 digits (0-9) are referred to as the Digit Span. In other circumstances, participants are asked to remember the series of items in reverse order, a challenging variant that uses slightly different brain processes.

At its heart, the Digit Span makes use of "working memory", which is the capability to retain a transient amount of information for a short period of time while also applying some type of cognitive manipulation. Working memory was generally considered to be somewhat distinct from the commonly used phrase "short-term memory", due to the "work" or manipulation that was done on memory held for less than 30 seconds (Cowan, 2008).

However, recent publications by reputed cognitive and neuroscience researchers have downplayed the distinction, stating that the two concepts are more or less synonymous and can be used interchangeably (Oberauer, 2018). Nevertheless, working memory is a foundational concept in psychology and has been investigated by cognitive and neuroscience research labs for several decades. The classic example of working memory at use would be our very own Digit Span test, which requires the cognitive ability to recall the digits in a specific order. Another relatable situation is remembering the code sent to a mobile device for two-factor authentication long enough to enter it on your computer!

Finally, to answer the question initially posed in this guide, it seems that the typical number of digits that can be remembered in the Digit Span is 7 plus or minus 2. Interestingly enough, one of the most cited papers in all of psychology addressed this topic. In 1956, Harvard psychologist George Miller published in Psychological Review the paper "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information" (Miller, 1956).

Are you up to the challenge of being one of the few who can recall more than 7 numbers in the Digit Span? Feel free to test yourself as many times as you like, as we would like to share our Digit Span task with as many people as possible. Moreover, we plan to add more psychology games in the near future, so stay in touch for future updates. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, whether about our Digit Span test or another matter.