I did the exercise to demonstrate how humans can create false memory. I read my friend two different lists of words, after each I had him write down all of the words that he could remember from the list on a piece of paper.
FIRST LIST WORDS REMEMBERED
thread thread
pin pin
eye needle
injection injection
syringe knitting
sewing sewing
sharp hay stack
point syringe
hurt
knitting
prick
thimble
haystack
pain
He made a false memory by writing down that "needle" was a word in the first list. This word corresponds with the topic of the other words in the list even though it was not stated, this is an example of false memory.
SECOND LIST WORDS REMEMBERED
Bed Drowse bed
Awake Nurse drowsy
Tired Sick wake
Dream Lawyer awake
Wake Medicine surgeon
Snooze Health clinic
Snore Hospital nurse
Rest Dentist hospital
Blanket Physician rest
Doze Patient
Slumber Stethoscope
Nap Curse
Peace Clinic
Yawn Surgeon
For this list he was able to recall both the first and the last words that were said. This demonstrates serial position effect which states that people are more likely to remember the first and last things they see/hear rather than the middle especially with a lot of information like this long list.
My friend thought it was kind of a tough task. You are read the list so fast that it is hard to remember everything that is said because your brain cannot focus for that long. I also tried this test and it was extremely difficult to remember a significant amount of words.
Awesome job Kourtney! This experiment is super interesting to me because I already have a hard time remembering the stuff i need for school let alone the false memories that i don't need. I relate to your friend in that when you do this task your trying to go so fast that sometimes you miss a lot! Great job!
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