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Materials
1. Instructions.
2. Word lists: 2 practice, 10 experimental. Instructors should tape-record the lists and write each list (
5 words each) on file folders; also write REPEAT and HELLO on file folders.
3. Immediate and delayed recall test forms for students, along with recognition test.
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4. Answer keys for immediate and delayed recall, and recognition test (also in student Study Guide).
Warn against looking ahead.
5. Data tabulation sheet.
Subjects
Ten or more subjects would be ideal, but the demonstration is possible with as few as six students. Each
student can participate as a subject, so the entire class is involved.
Time Required for Research
20 minutes for data collection; 10 minutes for data analysis.
Time Required for Discussion
10–20 minutes.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In this memory task you will listen and see lists of words that you are to remember. Each list will
have five words; there will be two practice trials and 10 test trials.
2. The word lists will be read aloud (on tape) slowly, and I will hold them up for you to see. You will
wait 15 seconds until writing down as many as you can remember from each list. You will have to
hold those five words in memory for 15 seconds before writing them down on the Recall Test
Answer sheets.
3. During the 15-second interval, there will be an experimental variation that takes place, not between
subjects but within subjects. Each of you will be his or her own control as we take repeated
measures on you across both conditions. In the repeat condition, you are to repeat over and over the 5
words in a soft, but audible, voice and to think of nothing else but the individual words. In the Hello
condition, you are to say “Hello” over and over in the same soft, but audible, voice during the 15
seconds. The Hello condition poses a distraction to rehearsal. To give it a little boost so it will not be
at a total disadvantage to the Repeat condition, make up a story that links the five words in a list.
This is called “narrative chaining,” in which unrelated words are chained to form a narration.
Make the story vivid and bizarre if you can. You can form your narrative as soon as the list is
presented and/or silently to yourself while you are saying “Hello” aloud.
4. Now let us have two practice trials. I will hold up the condition cue first, then present the five
words. After the last word, you repeat the five words aloud. Now start. (Word list read/shown; 15r />
seconds for rehearsal.) Stop! Write on your Recall Test Answer sheet the words you recall. (Be sure
each student is reciting aloud.) Now, the Hello practice trial (as before).
5. We are ready for the test trials. The Repeat and Hello trials will be alternated, with Repeat coming
on trials 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, and Hello on trials 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. Before each list I will hold up either
the Repeat or Hello card and you recite the 5 words or say Hello as often as you can during the 15
seconds before writing down as many words as you can remember on the form in your workbook.
Begin.
6. (After the last list, have students turn their tally sheet over while you fill the 5-10 minute delay
interval with talk about mnemonics, memory enhancements, or information processing models of
memory.)
7. OK, now let us assess your delayed recall. How many of the 50 words on both Repeat and Hello
lists do you recall? Use the Delayed Recall sheet in your workbook to write down all the words you
recall now, in any order. When you cannot recall any more, raise your hand to signal that you are
ready for the next task. (Give 5 minutes maximum for delayed recall.)
8. Please turn that tally sheet over. Now you will take a recognition test of the words to which you
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were exposed. In your workbook is a Recognition Test that includes the 50 original words plus 50
others not in the original lists. Circle each one you think was on one of the original lists you heard
and saw. Do it as quickly as you can.
9. It’s time for you to calculate the results for each of the three measures of memory separately, using
the answer keys in your workbook. When you have done so, fill in the Data Tabulation Sheet in
your workbook, state your conclusion, and draw the graph requested.
10. The individual data should be tallied for the class on the chalkboard or on an overhead projector. If
there is time, a class graph and within-subjects t-test can be computed.
DISCUSSION, EXTENSIONS, AND EXPERIMENTAL VARIATIONS
1. Perform the experiment with some students in the Hello condition not doing the narrative chaining
to see the effects of distraction not aided by making the word lists more meaningful. Compare recall
for the most vivid and bizarre list-stories with more mundane ones.
2. Vary the type of depth-of-processing instructions, for example, a vivid image of the first word on the
list or a rhyme for each word. A yoked-control group might use the story chains that were created
by the Hello group to see if generating a personally meaningful integration is necessary for the
effect or if performing the task with an arbitrary story chain is as effective.
3. Have students graph the data to investigate serial position effects–by lists rather than by individual
words–for each type of memory measure.
4. With brighter students, shorten the exposure time to each list, lengthen the size of the lists, and
extend the delay interval.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Bower, G., & Clark, M. C. (1969). Narrative stories as mediators for serial learning. Psychonomic Science, 14,
181-182.
Craik, F. I. M., & Watkins, M. J. (1973). The role of rehearsal in short-term memory. Journal of Verbal Learning
and Verbal Behavior, 12, 599-607.
Lorayne, H., & Lucas, J. (I 975). The Memory Book. New York: Ballantine Books.
Modigliani, V, & Searnon, J. G. (1974). Transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory. Journal
of Experimental Psychology, 102, 768-772.
Shimamura, A.Y. (1984). A guide for teaching mnemonic skills. Teaching of Psychology, 11, 162-166.
Thieman, T. J. (1984). A classroom demonstration of encoding specificity. Teaching of Psychology, 11, 101
102.
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WORD LISTS FOR DEPTH-OF-PROCESSING STUDY
Repeat Hello Repeat Hello
(Practice) (Practice) (1) (2)
apple flower river body
fire queen garden letter
storm army lake girl
ship kiss sugar rock
king street bird tree
(3) (4) (5) (6)
lip shoes water weapon
book machine hall home
seat boy market skin
gold village camp moat
valley green shore car
(7) (8) (9) (10)
cat soil iron picture
sky city party judge
horse mountain doctor star
vehicle house railroad door
money prison square sea
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IMMEDIATE RECALL ANSWER SHEET
A. Practice B. Practice
1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6.
7. 8.
9. 10.
Do not turn to the next page until you are instructed to do so.
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DELAYED RECALL ANSWER SHEET
Do not turn to the next page until you are instructed to do so.
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RECOGNITION TEST ANSWER SHEET
Circle each word if it was on a list that you heard and saw.
1. iron soil chair doctor lake
2. crane rain garden shoes star
3. machine heap green book button
4. ketchup almond lamp moat car
5. market party square train roast
6. house business lip ram horse
7. spit boy dam shore railroad
8. sea illness hall harness hand
9. film shout dirt box rock
10. mortar sprain loan sugar prison
11. river door picture golf ball
12. sip water mountain map sheet
13. guest juice meat judge couch
14. home skin stone television village
15. priest gold cat weapon kangaroo
16. wind cannon sled city valley
17. spoon bird mast pickax spell
18. seat steeple letter sky corn
19. vehicle money fox wax lily
20. tree body game girl camp
Do not turn the page until instructed to do so.
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ANSWER KEY FOR THE IMMEDIATE RECALL TEST
A. Practice B. Practice
apple flower
fire queen
storm army
ship kiss
king street
1. river 2. body
garden letter
lake girl
sugar rock
bird tree
3. lip 4. shoes
book machine
seat boy
gold village
valley green
5. water 6. weapon
hall home
market skin
camp moat
shore car
7. cat 8. soil
sky city
horse mountain
vehicle house
money prison
9. iron 10. picture
party judge
doctor star
railroad door
square sea
Totals
Correct R: Correct H:
Do not turn to the next page until instructed to do so.
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ANSWER KEY FOR THE DELAYED RECALL TEST
A. Practice B. Practice
apple flower
fire queen
storm army
ship kiss
king street
1. river 2. body
garden letter
lake girl
sugar rock
bird tree
3. lip 4. shoes
book machine
seat boy
gold village
valley green
5. water 6. weapon
hall home
market skin
camp moat
shore car
7. cat 8. soil
sky city
horse mountain
vehicle house
money prison
9. iron 10. picture
party judge
doctor star
railroad door
square sea
Totals
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Correct R: Correct H:
Do not turn to the next page until instructed to do so.
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ANSWER KEY FOR THE RECOGNITION TEST
1. +9 iron +8 soil — +9 doctor +1 lake
2. — — +1 garden +4 shoes +10 star
3. +4 machine — +4 green +3 book —
4.— — — +6 moat +6car
5. +5 market +9 party +9 square — —
6. +8 house — +3 lip — +7 horse
7. — +4 boy — +5 shore +9 railroad
8. +10 sea — +5 hall — —
9. — — — — +2 rock
10. — — — +1 sugar +8 prison
11. +1 river +10 door +10 picture — —
12. — +5 water +8 mountain — —
13. — — +6 meat +10 judge —
14. +6 home +6 skin — — +4 village
15. — +3 gold +7 cat +6 weapon —
16. — — — +8 city +3 valley
17.— +1 bird— — —
18. +3 seat — +2 letter +7 sky —
19. +7 vehicle +7 money — — —
20. +2 tree +2 body — +2 girl +5 camp
Circled numbers are the list numbers of “Hello” words (even-numbered lists)
Uncircled numbers are the list numbers of “Repeat” words (odd-numbered lists)
—are false positives, words you thought were on a list but were not
Total Correct R:
Total Correct H:
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DATA TABULATION SHEET
Name:
Record frequency of scores under each of the following conditions.
Memory Measure
Experimental
Condition
Immediate
Recall
Delayed
Recall
Recognition
Test
Repeat
(Repetition)
Hello
(Depth-of-processing)
Totals
False
Positives
Conclusions: What is the effect of the experimental conditions on
(a) Immediate recall?