It has been long thought that chunking can improve working memory. A study was done to see how chunking can improve working memory when it came to symbolic sequences and gating mechanisms. This was done by having 25 participants learn 16 sequences through trial and error. The target was presented alongside a distractor and participants were to able to identify the target by using right or left buttons on a computer mouse. The final analysis was done on only 19 participants. The results showed that chunking does improve symbolic sequence performance through decreasing cognitive load and real-time strategy. Chunking has provided to be effective in reducing the load on adding items into the working memory. Having chunking allows for more items to be encoded into working memory with more availably to transfer into the long-term memory.
