Memory in Action

This is a collection of the assigned Memory in Action assignments for class. Please follow the instructions to complete the demo, and enter your (brief!) responses directly into the text box for the assignment on Canvas. As a reminder, responses must be uploaded to Canvas by no later than 24hrs prior to the date/lecture specified on the syllabus.

4/15: MiA #1: N-back

A classic n-back task can be found by navigating to this page and then clicking on the “Memory” tab and selecting “Working memory test (n-back)”. Log in (in the left sidebar) using the username: psych45 and password: stanford.

Start with a 2-back, then increase to the 3-back. Feel free to try the 4-back, etc., if you want! After you complete the demos, please answer the following questions and submit your answers to these questions on Canvas by no later than 12:00 PM (noon) PDT on Weds (4/15).

  1. What strategies did you use to try to remember the pictures? How well did they work?
  2. How did the 2-back task compare to the 3-back (or 4-back, etc. if you tried it)?
  3. How could you change the task to make it easier or harder, other than changing the number of targets (n)?

View class data:

class n-back task results

4/22: MiA #2: Stroop

A classic Stroop task can be found by navigating to this page and then clicking on the “Executive” tab and selecting Color Reading Interference (Stroop). Log in (in the left sidebar) using the username: psych45 and password: stanford. Complete the demo, and then please answer the following questions and submit your answers to these questions by 12:00 PM (noon) PDT on Weds (4/22).

  1. Were you as quick and accurate on all of the trials? Or were some trials easier than others? Why do you think this might be the case?
  2. Did the task become easier over time?
  3. Do you think the effect would be larger or smaller if, instead of identifying the color that color words were printed in, you were identifying the font that different font names were printed in? What about numbers in different font sizes? Explain your thinking.
  4. Is there an example of the Stroop effect you’ve observed in the real world?

View class data:

class stroop task results

5/13: MiA #3: Semantic memory

  1. Go to this Google Form, and complete the category ranking task.
  2. Briefly describe the strategy that you used (or that you think you used) to make these decisions.
  3. Choose one of the categories (i.e., fruit, sport, bird, vehicle, crime, vegetable), and list what you consider the most important defining features of that category.

Please complete the task and then submit your responses to the following prompts to Canvas by no later than 12 PM on Weds (5/13).

5/27: MiA #4: Emotion & memory

Please complete the demo here and submit your data on the Google form as well as answers to the questions below on Canvas by no later than 12 PM on Weds (5/27).

  1. What type of encoding instructions were used? What type of memory test was used? Based on what we’ve learned about this type of memory test, what serial positions are you more likely to remember when performing this type of task?
  2. How was your memory performance for the different types (positive, negative, neutral) of words? Why do you think this was the case? Did you use different encoding and/or retrieval strategies for the different types of words?
  3. (Optional). Feel free to share any additional comments.

6/3: MiA #5: Memory errors

For two days keep a memory errors journal. Try to pay attention to situations where your memory fails you that you might not usually notice, and ask yourself: Why did I behave this way? Were there certain types of circumstances that produced these errors? What could I have done to prevent this from happening?

Try to think of at least one instance of each of the following:

  1. Forgetting
  2. False memory

Please submit whatever examples you feel comfortable sharing from your journal by no later than 12 PM on Weds (6/3).