PRACTICAL SESSION #4: TESTING MEMORY & ATTENTION
Sílvia Indias
Department of Health Sciences
2023/2024
STUDENT’S NAME: Carolina Miqueleiz González
PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
PRACTICAL SESSION #4: TESTING MEMORY & ATTENTION
EXERCISE 1: Write a report on the results obtained in each test. Use the adequate technical words
to explain any effects observed (or expected to appear), the different cognitive systems (types of
memory, attention functions…) implicated in each task. Briefly explain your results and the
techniques you used in order to do well. Cite the original studies.
A. Memory span test (Jacobs).
What is this test about? What is it measuring?
There is a series a numeric sequence. The subject must read each sequence as if it were a
telephone number, close its eyes and write it down. Go until you fail two sequences of the same
length. Your memory span is one number less than that.
It is measuring short term memory. The normal range is
between 6 and 9, so I think I have a good short-term
memory.
What are your results? Why do you think this is ?
I think it is because I am used to memorizing phone
numbers, and also, because I use rhythm as a way to
remember these numbers.
B. Free recall memory test (Postman & Phillips).
What is this test about? What is it measuring?
Subjects will be presented a series of words. The task is to memorize as many as I can. Every
word will be presented just once.
This exercise measures long term and working memory. Long term because of the
memorization of the first words and working memory because it is data that is almost
simultaneously said as memorized.
What are your results? Why do you think this is?
As we recollected the number
of people that could memorize the
words, and put it in a chart, we could
PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
PRACTICAL SESSION #4: TESTING MEMORY & ATTENTION
realize that people have a higher tendency to memorize the first and last words, and more difficulty
with the middle ones.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
PRACTICAL SESSION #4: TESTING MEMORY & ATTENTION
Individually, I had a result of 13 out of 20 words
remembered, which is pretty good I believe considering the
fact that the time span-time of the words presented was
quite short, and it is more than half of the words
presented. What I did to try to memorize them was
imagining images of the words given.
C. Stroop test: LINK
What is this test about? What is it measuring?
PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
PRACTICAL SESSION #4: TESTING MEMORY & ATTENTION
This exercise measures attention, as one does not have to memorize anything, just have a
certain behavior to stimulus, which are the words and the colors.
What are your results? Why do you think this is?
I have a higher number in the
congruent situation than in the
incongruent one, which I think is normal.
What I did to do this exercise is block my
reading ability only looking or
considering the color of the word, which
maybe took a bit more of time. This is
the incongruent situation, which is more
difficult than the congruent because the
meaning of the word does not match the
color.
