In this study we'll try to replicate two famous studies (Glanzer and Cunitz, 1966; Murdock, 1962) that prove the serial position effect. In the end, you'll be given more information about the experiments and their significance.
The study is similiar to the original in the following ways:
It differs from the original in the following way:
Press "Next" to proceed.
If you think you can perform calculations better than a computer, you might be right... to a certain degree. There's a link in terms of memory as the information people process flows through a system - just like the computers. This is the so called information processing model: with an input, process and output. Or in other words, with hardware, CD drivers, wires...
The information processing model is known also as the multi-store model and suggests that memory is made up of three series of stores (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968). The three series are: sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. That comes from serial position effect studies and studies of brain damaged patients.
Why don't you try to see if you process information as a computer? You'll be presented with different sets of words and asked to recall as many as possible in any order.
You'll be presented with a list of words (e.g. screen, bottle, etc) for a certain period of time.
Sit yourself comfortably, pay attention to the words presented and write down the words you recall in the end of each set.
Press "Next" to proceed to the experiment.
Now you'll be presented with another set of words. In the end you'll have to recall the words in any order, but before you have the chance to write them down, you'll have to count backward from 100 in 3's (e.g.: 100, 97, 94, 91, 88, 85, and so on).
The counting task is counting from 100 backward in 3's: 100, 97, 94, 91, 88...
100, 97, 94, 91, 88, 85...
Click "Next" to proceed to the experiment.
100, 97, 94, 91, 88, 85, 82, 79, 76, 73, 70, 67...
Feedback
Murdock suggested that words early in the list were put into long-term memory (primacy effect) because the person has time to rehearse each word acoustically. Words from the end of the list went into short-term memory (recency effect) which can typically hold about 7 items. Words in the middle of the list had been there too long to be held in short-term memory and not long enough to be put into long-term memory. However, Glanzer and Cunitz showed that the words at the end of the list are only remembered if recalled first and tested immediately. Delaying recall by 30 seconds prevented the recency effect.
That means that we can't always compete with our invention - the computer and "save" all the input we get. However, our memory is an amazing topic that's yet to be explored.
