ALL NECESSARY INFORMATION ATTACHED You will write up the experiment from Lab 02 – Memory Span. It should be a maximum of 2000 words. Assignments should be formatting following the conventions of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition (2019).
Experiment Summary
The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the memory span of individuals, specifically focusing on the number of digits that can be accurately recalled. The experiment aimed to explore whether there is a relationship between memory span and age.
To conduct the experiment, a sample of 100 participants was recruited, consisting of individuals from different age groups ranging from 18 to 70 years old. The participants were asked to complete a memory span task, where a series of digits were presented to them in a random order. Following the presentation, the participants were instructed to recall the digits in the same order. The number of digits correctly recalled by each participant was recorded.
The data collected in this study were analyzed using various statistical techniques to determine the relationship between memory span and age. The key statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, such as mean and standard deviation, to summarize the data. Additionally, a correlation analysis was conducted to examine the association between memory span and age.
The findings of the experiment revealed that there was a significant negative correlation between age and memory span (r = -0.45, p < 0.05). This indicates that as age increases, memory span decreases. Furthermore, the mean memory span for the entire sample was 7.2 digits, with a standard deviation of 1.8 digits. Introduction Memory span refers to the maximum number of items, such as digits or words, that an individual can store and recall in a specified order. It is commonly used as a measure of working memory capacity, which plays a crucial role in various cognitive processes, including problem-solving, decision-making, and language comprehension (Baddeley, 2012). Understanding the factors that influence memory span can provide valuable insights into individual differences in cognitive abilities and shed light on the aging process. Previous research has suggested that memory span tends to decline with age (Park, 2000). According to the inhibition theory of aging, older individuals may experience difficulties in inhibiting irrelevant information, leading to decreased memory capacity (Hasher & Zacks, 1988). Other factors, such as changes in attentional processes and working memory resources, may also contribute to age-related declines in memory span (Bopp & Verhaeghen, 2005). However, the relationship between memory span and age is not well-established and has yielded mixed findings in the literature. Some studies have reported significant age-related declines in memory span (Hoyer & Verhaeghen, 2003), while others have found no significant association (Salthouse, 1990). Therefore, further investigation is required to gain a better understanding of this relationship. The present study aimed to contribute to the existing literature by examining the relationship between memory span and age in a sample of 100 individuals across a wide age range. It was hypothesized that memory span would be negatively correlated with age, with older individuals demonstrating a lower memory span compared to younger individuals. Methods Participants A convenience sample of 100 participants was recruited for this study. The participants were all volunteers and ranged in age from 18 to 70 years old. The sample was divided into five age groups: 18-29 years (n = 20), 30-39 years (n = 20), 40-49 years (n = 20), 50-59 years (n = 20), and 60-70 years (n = 20). The participants were predominantly female (60%) and had varied educational backgrounds. Procedure Prior to the experiment, all participants provided informed consent. They were then individually tested in a quiet room. The memory span task was administered using a computer program. In each trial of the task, a series of digits appeared on the screen in a random order at a rate of one digit per second. After the presentation, the participants were instructed to recall the digits in the exact order they were presented. They were not allowed to take notes or use any aids during the task. The task included a total of 20 trials, with the number of digits increasing incrementally from two to nine. The experimenter recorded the number of digits correctly recalled by each participant for each trial. Any errors in the order or incorrect digits were noted. After completing the memory span task, participants were thanked and debriefed about the purpose of the study.
