Johns Hopkins University researchers have found that babies use the same technique as adults to overcome limits in their working memory (memory overload): grouping things into hierarchical categories.

The 14-month-old babies could only remember three things at a time, but those things could include both individual items or groups. The babies used natural groups (two cats or two cars), and would also learn to group items if the researchers presented unfamiliar toys as a group (a shrimp and a tank shown together became a group).