1. Memory Lab
This assignment is to put your memory as well as the memory of others to the test! Please
complete the following tasks step by step to complete the memory lab. This does not need
to be formalized into a paper but the required responses must be provided in complete
thoughts. Once complete, please submit to the appropriate dropbox.
1. Please visit the following website: http://human-
factors.arc.nasa.gov/cognition/tutorials/index.html. As you notice, there are 5 activities for you
to participate in. Please partake in each activity (recognition, the mnemonicizer,
human memory: recall, interference, and short term memory). For each, complete
the following:
a. How many times did it take you to recognize the “real” penny? Using terms
from this unit, explain why.
b. How do mnemonic devices help one remember information? Go back and
create a mnemonic device for psychology class (can apply to any unit of
material we have completed). What is it and what does it represent? Why did
you choose that material to create a memory tool for?
c. Please explain your experience with the recall task (human memory). What
factors affected your performance?
d. What is interference and how does it apply to the concept of memory? How
did you perform on this challenge? Please explain.
e. When completing the short term memory experiments, did you remember the
pictures, the words, or the sounds better? Please explain your experience
using terms from the unit.
2. Please select a family member or friend to complete the same five exercises. Please
be with them while they do. You need to watch them complete each experiment and
interact with them to respond to the following questions:
a. How many times did it take them to recognize the “real” penny? Ask them
why. Please provide their rationale and then compare it to your explanation.
Explain to them using psychology terminology why they had difficulty
recognizing the true penny.
b. Ask your partner if they have ever created a mnemonic device on their own
before (before completing the exercise). If so, what was it and what was it
meant to represent? What was the mnemonic device they created for the

2. exercise?
c. Please explain their experience with the recall task (human memory). Ask
them what factors affected their performance?
d. Record their experiences with the interference task. Have them explain the
challenges they faced while completing the exercise.
e. When completing the short term memory experiments, did they remember the
pictures, the words, or the sounds better? Ask them to explain why.
3. Please ask your partner to record the names of the 7 dwarfs from the Snow White
story. This is a straight recall task. Please provide the list they create for you. Have
them rationalize to you why they forgot certain names and why they remembered
others. Please do not tell them the full 7 yet. Please add your perspective using
terms from the unit to explain why they performed on this task the way they did.
a. Next provide them the following list:
i.Sleepy
ii.Slappy
iii.Sloppey
iv.Dumpy
v.Doc
vi.Bashful
vii.Shy
viii.Dopey
ix.Grouchy
x.Grumpy
xi.Excited
xii.Happy
xiii.Skippy
xiv.Sneezy
b. Have them pick up through recognition the names of the 7 dwarfs. Did they

3. perform better on this recognition task than the recall one? Why or why not?
What factors may have helped them recognize the names?
4. Next, have your helper write down the names of the past presidents. Please
encourage them to write as many as they can in order. Give them no more than 5
minutes to do so. Please share their list. Using the serial position effect, please
explain why they remembered the presidents that they did. Please ask for their input
on why they remembered the ones they did.
5. In order to demonstrate a flashbulb memory, please ask your partner to reflect on
their memory of September 11, 2001. Please record their detailed account and
explain why this event serves as a flashbulb memory for most people.
6. On a piece of paper, please write out the following sequence: 1492177618121941.
Briefly flash the sheet of paper to our partner and ask them to write down as many
digits as they can remember. Please provide their response. Next, break the
sequence of digits in to the following and repeat the process: 1492-1776-1812-1941.
How many pieces of data did they remember this time? Ask them why, records their
thoughts, and then explain the concept of 7 +/- (plus or minus) 2.
7. Please ask you participant to explain to you a time they experience déjà vu. Using
psychology explanations, rationalized why this happened to them.
8. Please watch the following video about Stephen Wiltshire on your own:
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/the-stephen-wiltshire-gallery/2448-stephen-wiltshire-
draws-coliseum-from-memory-video.htm.
a. Explain your reaction to the video and integrate psychological terms to explain
his ability.