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Demonstration On the Nature of Long-Term Memory
Chris Hakala
Gettysburg College
Concept:
- This demonstration is designed to provide the students with insight into several characteristics of long-term memory.
Materials:
- None
Instructions:
- Students are read a list of words and are told to simply list and remember the words. After the list is read (at a rate of about 1 word per second), students are asked to recall the list. A second list is then read to the students, and they are asked to recall the list again. A third list can also be used.
List 1 List 2 List 3 bed nurse queen rest sick England awake lawyer crown tired medicine prince dream health George wake hospital dictator snooze dentist palace blanket physician throne doze ill chess slumber patient rule snore office subjects nap stethoscope monarch peace sugeon royal yawn clinic leader drowsy cure reign
DO NOT READ THESE WORDS
SLEEP DOCTOR KING
Results and Discussion:After students recall all the lists (they do them right after you read the list to them), ask them if they recalled words from the beginning of the list (primacy effect), from the end of the list (recency effect) and from the middle of the list (serial position effect). Then ask how many recalled the word that was not mentioned (e.g., SLEEP). Previous research has demonstrated that a large percentage of the class will recall that word even though it had not been previously read.
This then leads into a discussion of the serial position effect as well as the reconstructive and associative nature of long-term memory. It can be pointed out that when we remember information, it is a combination of what we have experienced and what we know about the world. Further, the organization of LTM can be explained in terms of an integrated network of related concepts and the process of searching those concepts can be accomplished through spreading activation.
This demonstration has also been used to explain deja vu. That is, the similarity between the current situation and a previously experienced situation give rise to the feeling that one has experienced something before. However, that is a false feeling of memory that is due to similar processes such as those described above.
Reference:
- This demonstration was drawn from the following source:
Roediger, H.L., & McDermott, K.B. (1985). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 21, 803-814.
The above activity was originally published in the Jan/Feb 1996 issue of The Psychology Teacher Network. The activity is reprinted here with the permission of the Education Directorate of the APA. Further publication of the activity is not permitted without the express written consent of the Education Directorate.
For information on subscribing to The Psychology Teacher Network, write to:
- Psychology Teacher Network
Education Directorate
APA
750 First Street, NE,
Washington, DC 20002-4242
