Download Method of Loci or Memory Palace

Year 9 Science
Understanding Memory
Common Assessment Task
Aim: to design and conduct an experiment to test human memory and/or the techniques to improve recall.
What to do: There are six (6) experiments outlined below. Some of them you may have performed in class.
Choose ONE of them to investigate and prepare an outline of an experiment to conduct on a group of at least
10 people.
You will need to follow the series of steps in research, beginning with a research question, aim and
hypothesis. Then you will need to plan how you will obtain your sample, the materials you will need and
when and how you will perform the tests. Finally you will need to record your results and discuss your
findings and conclusions in a report. The report will be completed as a scientific poster, according to the
format outlined on the template on the Year 9 Science Wiki.
Narrative chaining
Narrative chaining involves linking otherwise unrelated items to one another
(‘chaining’) to form a meaningful sequence or story (‘narrative’). For example,
consider all the following words that have no apparent relationship:
bird, costume, letterbox, head, river, nurse, theatre, wax, eyelid, fireplace
Research studies have found that you will be far more likely to remember all of
them if you linked them in a story such as the following:
A man dressed in a bird costume and wearing a letterbox on his head was seen leaping into the river.
A nurse ran out of a nearby theatre and applied wax to his eyelid, but her efforts were in vain. He died and
was tossed into the fireplace (Bower & Clark, 1969).
In one experiment conducted by Elizabeth Loftus (1980), participants who used narrative chaining
remembered six times more information than participants who learned by simply repeating the words to
themselves. These results provide strong evidence that using a technique that
adds organisation and meaningfulness to otherwise meaningless material is a form of elaborative rehearsal
that will improve retrieval. Narrative chaining is a particularly useful mnemonic technique when you want to
remember information in a particular order. However, a narrative will not be helpful if it hangs together so
loosely that you cannot remember the story (Matlin, 2002).
YOUR TASK
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Design an experiment to test whether narrative chaining is an effective memory technique.
Develop and aim and hypothesis
Chose a population to study and a sampling technique
Decide on a method. Organise the equipment you will need.
Develop a standardised procedure to make sure that the conditions are as similar for the subjects as
possible.
6. Identify the control and experimental conditions
7. Record your results
8. Analyse your results in a Discussion section. Was your hypothesis supported? Provide evidence to
support your findings.
9. Suggest and errors or limitations and improvements for a future study
10. Write a conclusion that answers your aim. Consider whether your results can be generalised to the
wider population and the implications for your study technique in the future.
Method of Loci or Memory Palace
The Method of Loci is an effective mnemonic device, or a trick to aid in memory storage and retrieval. The
effectiveness of the Method of Loci relies on visualizing mental images to associate with the material that
needs to be remembered. The more vivid the visual, the more effective the method. Each item that needs to
be remembered is associated with a location in sequence that you are very familiar with, for example, the
journey to school each day or a map of your house.
Ancient Greek and Roman orators are often recognised for using the Method of Loci to memorize speeches.
Aboriginal story tellers used the landscape they travelled through to pass down extensive stories of their
history and culture in songlines using this same method.
Visualization
To use the Method of Loci, you simply need to
visualize a location through which you can take an
imaginary walk. If you are memorizing a speech, it
helpful for the location to have a beginning, middle,
end, perhaps similar to a route you have memorized
your way to work. You will 'store' parts of what you
to memorize throughout each space of the location
have chosen.
If you are using your work route as an example for a
through, you might mentally store the introduction
your speech in the mailbox near your front door,
symbolizing the beginning of your speech. Continue
throughout your imaginary walk, and in each new
location, mentally store another element from your
speech until you have completed your mental walk and reached the end of your speech.
is
and an
on
need
you
walkof
The Method of Loci can help with memorizing lists, scripts, and important speeches. It is important to stress
that mental imagery leads to the effectiveness of the Method of Loci. Creating a vivid mental picture helps
the mnemonic become clear and solid in your mind. Rehearsing the association between the location and the
material that needs to be memorized also adds to the mnemonic's effectiveness.
YOUR TASK
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Design an experiment to test whether method of loci is an effective memory technique.
Develop and aim and hypothesis
Chose a population to study and a sampling technique
Decide on a method. Organise the equipment you will need.
Develop a standardised procedure to make sure that the conditions are as similar for the subjects as
possible.
6. Identify the control and experimental conditions
7. Record your results
8. Analyse your results in a Discussion section. Was your hypothesis supported? Provide evidence to
support your findings.
9. Suggest and errors or limitations and improvements for a future study
10. Write a conclusion that answers your aim. Consider whether your results can be generalised to the
wider population, based on the sampling method you used and the size of the sample and the
implications for your study techniques in the future.
Maintenance and elaborative rehearsal
Information can be kept in STM (or ‘working memory’) for longer than the usual maximum of about 18 to
20 seconds if it is rehearsed in some way. In the study of memory, rehearsal is the process of consciously
manipulating information to keep it in STM, to transfer it to LTM or to aid storage and retrieval. The two
main types of rehearsal are called maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal.
Maintenance rehearsal involves repeating the information being remembered over and over again so that it
can be retained (or ‘maintained’) in STM. When you hear something for the first time and simply ‘go over
and over it’ so that you don’t forget it, you are using maintenance rehearsal. Although maintenance rehearsal
can be very effective for retaining information in STM, it does not 335always lead to long-term retention.
Unlike maintenance rehearsal, elaborative rehearsal involves focusing on the meaning of the information.
More specifically, elaborative rehearsal is the process of linking new information in a meaningful way with
other new information or information already stored in LTM to aid in its storage and future retrieval from
LTM. The more you elaborate, or ‘flesh out’, the various features of the concept and link it to your own
experience, the more likely you are to remember it. Elaborative rehearsal is a more active and effortful
process than maintenance rehearsal. It is also more effective than maintenance rehearsal for remembering
new information because it helps to ensure that information is encoded well.
The effectiveness of elaborative rehearsal can be demonstrated in several experiments
1. Maintenance rehearsal vs Elaborative Rehearsal for recalling word pairs
The aim of this experiment is to compare visual imagery with maintenance rehearsal as methods of
enhancing memory. Before conducting the research, construct a research hypothesis that can be tested by
the procedures. Your hypothesis should be consistent with theory on the effects of maintenance rehearsal
and elaborative rehearsal on subsequent recall of information.
Procedure. Read aloud to the participants a list of 15-20 paired associates (word pairs) comprising
randomly selected common nouns such as those listed in the table. Participants are required to use either
visual imagery or maintenance rehearsal for learning each paired associate. Before each word pair is
presented, they will be told which method of learning the words to use: ‘image’ or ‘repeat’. Half of the word
pairs should be learned using each method but presented in random order.
For visual imagery, instruct the participants to take about 10 seconds to form a mental image or picture in
which the two words are interacting in some way. (For example, for the word pair galah–train they might
picture a galah driving a train.) For maintenance rehearsal, instruct the participants to repeat the two
words aloud five times.
After you have presented all 15-20 paired associates, instruct the participants to count backwards by threes
from 100 for about 30 seconds, after which you will give a verbal test of recall. Present the first word of a
pair, and see whether they are able to recall the word that goes with it (the second word of the pair). Record
the results in a table such as the one below. All relevant ethical guidelines must be followed.
Word no.
1
2
3
4
5…16
Encoding Condition
Instruction
Word pair
repeat
Fish - chair
Image *
Bird - cradle
repeat
Table - trough
repeat
Tree - frame
Image*
Curtain - page
Prompt
Curtain*
Fish *BirdTree Table -
Retrieval
Word Pair
% Correct
2. The self-referencing effect
For the purposes of this demonstration, the participant should not be aware that they
will be required to recall the words in the word lists used for the demonstration.
Part A
Ask a volunteer participant to read each word in list A and indicate whether the word
is a long word (L) or a short word (S) by writing either ‘L’or ‘S’ in the space beside the word.
Participants should work through the list as quickly as possible. Ask them to then write down as many of
the words from list A as they can remember, in any order (i.e. free recall).
List A
aggressive____
friendly____
sad
shy____ intelligent ____ superstitious ____
____ alert ____ persistent____ sensitive____
sentimental____ fair ___ good-humoured ____
Part B
Ask the same participant to read each of the words in list B and indicate in the space beside the word
whether the word describes them.
If they think the word describes them, they should write the letter ‘Y’ in the space beside the words. If
the word does not describe them, they write the letter ‘N’. Again, the participant should work through the
list as quickly as possible, then close the book.
Using a separate sheet of paper, ask the participant to write down as many of the words from list B as they
can remember, in any order. All relevant ethical guidelines must be followed.
List B
Trusting ____ cruel
____ outgoing ____
Lazy ____ helpful
____
loud
considerate____
____
careful
emotional____
____
talkative____ loyal ____
athletic ____
Interpreting the data
Compare the recall scores for list A and list B. Was memory enhanced by self-referencing? If so, explain
why. If not, explain why not.
YOUR TASK
1. Design an experiment to test whether the elaborative rehearsal (imagery) or the self-referencing
effect enhances memory.
2. Develop and aim and hypothesis
3. Chose a population to study and a sampling technique
4. Decide on a method. Organise the equipment you will need.
5. Develop a standardised procedure to make sure that the conditions are as similar for the subjects as
possible.
6. Allocate your subjects to experimental and control groups.
7. Record your results
8. Analyse your results in a Discussion section. Was your hypothesis supported? Provide evidence to
support your findings.
9. Suggest and errors or limitations and improvements for a future study
10. Write a conclusion that answers your aim. Consider whether your results can be generalised to the
wider population, based on the sampling method you used and the size of the sample and the
implications for your study techniques in the future.
The serial position effect
The serial position effect provides evidence for the presence of two
types of memory, short term memory and long term memory. The
aim of this experiment is to produce the serial position effect by
asking participants to recall a list of 15 random words. The word
list could consist of common nouns that are each four letters in
length, such as seat, pipe, door, pond and so on.
During the experiment read the words aloud to the participants’ one
at a time, allowing a pause of about 2 seconds after each word.
Participants should memorise the list of words without writing them down. Immediately after the
words have been presented, they have to recall the words in any order by writing them down. They
should be allowed as much time as required to recall the words. The participants’ written responses
provide the data for plotting a line graph.
Repeat the experiment but ask the subjects to count back from 100 by 3s for 2 minutes. By making a
graph of the percentage recall rate of each word, you can compare your graph with the for the nodelay condition. All relevant ethical guidelines must be followed.
Condition 1
No.
1
%
recall
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Condition 2. Counting backwards by 3s.
No.
1
%
recall
2
3
4
5
6
YOUR TASK
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Design an experiment to test whether the serial position effect is relevant to models memory.
Develop and aim and hypothesis
Chose a population to study and a sampling technique
Decide on a method. Organise the equipment you will need.
Develop a standardised procedure to make sure that the conditions are as similar for the subjects as
possible.
6. Allocate your subjects to experimental and control groups.
7. Record your results
8. Analyse your results in a Discussion section. Was your hypothesis supported? Provide evidence to
support your findings.
9. Suggest and errors or limitations and improvements for a future study
10. Write a conclusion that answers your aim. Consider whether your results can be generalised to the
wider population, based on the sampling method you used and the size of the sample.
Chunking
This experiment assesses whether the number of items retained in STM is increased by chunking.
Any group of participants can be used in the experiment, including students in your class.
Participants may be tested individually or in a group(s). All relevant ethical guidelines must be
followed.
Develop two types of digit span tests comprising sets of numbers (digits). One test should comprise
single digits in each set (for example, 2, 7-3, 9-7-4-2, etc.). The other test should comprise digits in
chunked form (for example, 276-1, 174-36, 615-738-91, etc.).
Participants should be presented with 10 sets of digits in each test, and the number of digits should
increase by one for each trial. Administer both tests to each participant, with a short break between
each test. Present the tests orally at regular intervals in a monotone voice, reading at a rate of about
one digit per second. Immediately after you present each test item, ask participants to recall the
digits in correct order by writing their responses on a sheet of paper. The sheets should be collected
and scored afterwards. All relevant ethical guidelines must be followed.
Record your results in a table and draw a graph.
Set 1
Trial
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2
7-3
5-3-6
9-7-4-2
No. of
units
1
2
3
4
Set 2
Chunks
%
Recall
Trial
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
267
254 - 1
735 - 26
841 - 398
257-139- 4
No. of
units
3
4
5
6
7
Units
%
(Chunks) Recall
1
2
2
2
3
YOUR TASK
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Design an experiment to test whether chunking enhances the capacity of short term memory.
Develop and aim and hypothesis
Chose a population to study and a sampling technique
Decide on a method. Organise the equipment you will need.
Develop a standardised procedure to make sure that the conditions are as similar for the subjects as
possible.
6. Allocate your subjects to experimental and control groups.
7. Record your results
8. Analyse your results in a Discussion section. Was your hypothesis supported? Provide evidence to
support your findings.
9. Suggest and errors or limitations and improvements for a future study
10. Write a conclusion that answers your aim. Consider whether your results can be generalised to the
wider population, based on the sampling method you used and the size of the sample. How will you
use the information in your future studies?