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Behavior Modification

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. 


Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 12, 2018 at 11:42 AM

    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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