Memory Test results

The successfully recalled items from each list are shown as follows:

8 7 0 3 1 4
7 1 5 0 5 4 3 6
2 1 6 6 8 7 5 4 5
6 8 1 4 5 2 4 7 0
2 8 4 3 9 3 4 8 2 5
T S Y L Q P
C I M W O D X A
Q W E R T
K W U C R
L A B S O N
LEAF GIFT CAR FISH ROCK
PAPER SEAT TIRE HORSE FILM BRUSH
BAG BOOK WIRE WHELL BANANA BAR PAD BLACK RADIO BOY
LOVE EMOTION PLAN ATTEMP ANALYSIS SYSTEM PAYMENT
WHILE I WAS WALKING THROUGH THE WOODS A RABBIT RAN ACROSS MY PATH

The pattern I see from this memory test is that generally the subject can recall seven plus or minus two items within each list. The last list is an exception, because unlike the illogical items within other lists, this is a sentence which makes sense. I believe Ashcraft (1989) offered explanations to bear on such phenomenon. Human beings can hold large amounts of information in both sensory memories ad long-term memory system. However, the immediate memory, which is like a bridge linking the sensory and long-term memory, has a limited capacity of storage. “There is a rather severe limit on how much can be encoded, held, and reported immediately” by our immediate memory (p.141). Also as Miller cited in Ashcraft, human beings’ capacity for processing information is related to the magical number “seven”, plus or minus two. Therefore, this explains why my subject can recall about seven items in length within the lists read to him.

There are ways to improve the test results according to Ashcraft (1989). If we recode the information by grouping certain items into chunks, it will be possible for us to increase the amount of information our short-term memory can handle. By chunking individual items into groups, the informational bottleneck will be broken (Miller 1956, as cited in Ashcraft 1989). That’s why we find it much easier to remember telephone numbers, social security numbers or our PUIDs according to certain chunks.