The matrix grid of words I will be using:
Aim and Hypothesis
In this experiment I aim to find out how ones age affects their short term memory. My main aim is to see if the older you are the poorer your short term memory will be and that the older participants are more likely to not remember as many of the words as the younger participants. I aim to find that the younger teenagers will be able to recall the words perfectly.
My hypothesis: The older (50+) you are the poorer your short term memory is.
Method
Design
The experiment is looking for a correlation based on what age range will remember the most words in 30 seconds. The extraneous variable is the box of words participants have to recall. This has been controlled because the words were chosen specifically so the younger participants would be able to read them and remember them without too much difficulty.
Participants
My participants are ranging from the age of 8 to 60 both male and female. The participants will be doing the experiment in their home. Participants had to range from a young age to old because the experiment is looking at how age affects short term memory.
Apparatus
The experiment doesn’t require many materials apart from, a pen, paper and a stopwatch. The pen and paper will be provided for the participants so they can write down their memory recall and the stopwatch will be used to time 30 seconds for older participants and more time will be given to the younger participants.
Procedure
This experiment was carried out in the simplest way possible as to get the most accurate results. The experimenter selected 20 or so participants to partake in the experiment. The participants were mostly friends and family making the experiment easier to carry out as they listened more carefully to instructions and find it easier to understand them. Participants were briefed about what they were going to be doing but it did not involve telling them what the experiment aimed to find out as it will make participants alter their recall to what it should normally be. The experimenter held up a piece of paper with the grid of words on it and participants had literally one second to look at it and try and remember as many words they saw on it. The experimenter then asked the participants to recall as many words as they could in thirty seconds. After the participants had handed their recall sheets back to the experimenter they were be debriefed and told that the experiment aims to find out how age affects ones short term memory.
Ethics
There were not many ethical issues that arose from the experiment because participants were mainly over the age of 16. They were still told they had the right to withdraw at any point through the experiment. They were also told that it was a confidential experiment and their names will not be used. The younger participants also had he right to withdraw as it stated in their consent forms.
Results
The results showed that the younger you are the poorer your short term memory is thus proving the hypothesis wrong. It showed the older participants were more successful and recalled all the words or more than the younger participants did. The oldest participant aged 60 recalled all the words perfectly and in less than 30 seconds when the 16 year old recalled only 3 words in the 30 seconds provided.
