Measurement of short term memory

[cynthiadiane]

My daughter wants to use the ideas from "Do the Eyes have it?" from the Human Behavior Project Ideas section but we have a significant question re: measuring results. A random list of 7 numbers between 1 and 9 will be shown to a subject for 30 seconds vs. reading aloud the numbers in the sequence, then subjects will be asked to recite the ABC's and then recall the viewed or listened to numbers. Our question is: How do you measure "correctness" in the answer when the numbers are not in exactly the right sequence? For example, if a person recalls all the numbers in the list of 7 numbers, but recalls them out of order, is that a 100% or a 0%? If they say "There were two 2's, two 7's, and a 6, 9, and 3.", when the random number was "2 6 7 9 2 3 7" what would the "score" be? Thanks for your help! cynthiadiane

[deleted-71940]

Hello,
I consulted the procedure of the experiment on the science buddies website and it does not seem in indicate that the order of the sequence matters. It just states that the score of each participant is the number of correct numbers that were in the sequence. So, in your example, I believe that the score would be 7 out of 7, the participant stated all of the numbers that were in the sequence.

Hopefully this helps,
Nithin T

[deleted-71817]

Hi Cynthiadiane,
I think this project is a great idea! This is a common test used by psychologists and neurologists and is typically called a digit span test when numbers are used. It is my understanding that order does matter. If participant is unable to recall the same sequence which the numbers were presented, credit is given only for numbers which were in the correct sequence. I believe the sequence is important because it measures the person's ability to retain information in their short-term memory and or working memory.

[cynthiadiane]

Hi Cynthiadiane,
I think this project is a great idea! This is a common test used by psychologists and neurologists and is typically called a digit span test when numbers are used. It is my understanding that order does matter. If participant is unable to recall the same sequence which the numbers were presented, credit is given only for numbers which were in the correct sequence. I believe the sequence is important because it measures the person's ability to retain information in their short-term memory and or working memory.

Thank you for your input! I was pretty sure the sequence was important to the measurement of short term memory, but as the previous response stated, the experimental model given under "Do the Eyes have it" experiment did not indicate the importance of remembering the proper sequence. This makes sense to me given that a local telephone number has the same number of digits, but unless you get them in the proper sequence you won't be calling the person you wanted to reach!