Memory Simulations
A.P. Psychology
Chapter 7
Think you have a good
memory?
• You are about to do a small short term
memory test. A few letters will flash on
your computer monitor for 3-5 seconds.
Your job is to write down as many letters as
you can remember after they disappear.
• Use the data sheet to write down all the
letters you can remember.
U M
Write down the letters you
remember!
TZLD
Write down the letters you
remember!
KXCEJO
Write down the letters you
remember!
AV CYI S E H
Write down the letters you
remember!
LBFQRPMAUX
Write down the letters you
remember!
ZQECTBUMONRV
Write down the letters you
remember!
How did you do?
•
•
Compare your results with this
table. How many letters from each
trial did you remember? Is there a
"pattern" to the letters that you
remembered? For example, did you
remember the first few letters better
than the middle letters? Did you
remember the last letters?
Find the percentage of letters you
got correct. For example, if you
remembered 2 of the 4 letters
presented in the second trial, then
you have remembered 50% of the
letters.
Trial
#
Letters in
the Set
Correct Letters
#1
2
UM
#2
4
TZLD
#3
6
KXCEJO
#4
8
AVCYI S E H
#5
10
LBF QR PMAU X
#6
12
ZQECTBUMONRV
# of
Letters
you got
right
% you got
right
Let’s Try It Again ~ With
Music
• This time, try to concentrate on the letters
while music plays in the background. Will
you have greater difficulty?
P Z
Write down the letters you
remember!
L V S W
Write down the letters you
remember!
U B N G I Y
Write down the letters you
remember!
Q S C F K R A T
Write down the letters you
remember!
E V G W I Z B P L K
Write down the letters you
remember!
Y C F H D A J M Q T R X
Write down the letters you
remember!
How did you do?
•
•
Compare your results with this
table. How many letters from each
trial did you remember? Is there a
"pattern" to the letters that you
remembered? For example, did you
remember the first few letters better
than the middle letters? Did you
remember the last letters?
Find the percentage of letters you
got correct. For example, if you
remembered 2 of the 4 letters
presented in the second trial, then
you have remembered 50% of the
letters.
Trial
#
Letters in
the Set
Correct Letters
#1
2
PZ
#2
4
LVSW
#3
6
UBNGIY
#4
8
Q S C F K RAT
#5
10
EVGWIZBPLK
#6
12
YC F H DAJM QTR X
# of
Letters
you got
right
% you got
right
• Did you do better, or worse with music
playing? Why do you think that this is?
• Discuss your responses as a class!
Short Term Memory Test - Pictures
• The objects will stay on your computer
screen for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds,
write down all the items you can remember.
• Ready????
Write down the words of all the pictures you
can remember
How Many Did You Get?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Butterfly
Pencil
Chair
Cone
Rainbow
House
Clock
Phone
Kite
Lock
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Scissors
Guitar
Light Bulb
Plane
Apple
Computer
Globe
Plant
Hammer
Cake
Only one of these images of a penny is correct.
Which one is it? Check your answer and find out
"what's going on" by clicking on a coin.
The Real Penny
Grocery Store
• The first player starts the grocery list by saying "I went to
the grocery story and bought some ____." The player
should fill in the blank with an item from the grocery store.
For example, the player could say "I went to the grocery
story and bought some apples." The next player must
repeat the list and add a second item. For example, the
second player can say, "I went to the grocery store and
bought some apples and a bag of potato chips." The third
player must create a list using apples, bag of chips and add
a third item. The game continues until someone forgets one
of the items.
There’s a Chunk
Does “Chunking” Really Work?
There’s a Chunk
• A series of numbers will flash on the screen
for 5 seconds. Try to remember as many
numbers as possible and then write them
down.
9 1 5 11 2 4 6 15 10 3 7 13
12 8 14
Write down as many numbers as you can
remember
There’s a Chunk
• Another series of numbers will flash on the
screen for 5 seconds. Try to remember as
many numbers as possible.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15
Write down as many numbers as you can
remember
There’s a Chunk
• Was the second time easier? Did you
remember more numbers the second time?
Both sets of numbers are exactly the
same...it is just that the second one can
really be "chunked" into 1...one series of
numbers that is easy to remember.