Short-term memory

Trial: Hypothesis: If chewing gum impairs short-term memory, then gum chewers will have decreased test scores. Prediction based on hypothesis: Chewing gum will decrease attention span Dependent variable: Short-term memory (Amount correct, Letters) Independent variable: chewing gum Experimental group: required to chew gum naturally throughout the experiment Control group: no gum while performing experiment Randomization: Canvas groups Procedure: Organize tutorial into 2 groups, control and experiment, as denoted on Canvas Demonstrate and explain short-term memory test • Display 2 letters on screen for 4 seconds, write down as many as you can remember after letters disappear (15 seconds) • Repeat with 4 letters on screen for 4 seconds, 15 seconds to record • Repeat with 6 letters on screen for 4 seconds, 15 seconds to record • Repeat with 8 letters on screen for 4 seconds, 15 seconds to record • Repeat with 10 letters on screen for 4 seconds, 15 seconds to record • Repeat with 12 letters on screen for 4 seconds, 15 seconds to record Conduct short-term memory test 1. Ensure students can see screen and have way to record results 2. Instruct Experimental group to begin chewing gum 3. Begin test with new set of letters as before 4. Hand out ‘Record sheet’ 5. Have students self-report results and turn in completed sheets 6. Document results, add to Excel spreadsheet 7. Share tallied results with the class