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Digit Span Test - Report

The document describes a digit span test conducted to measure a participant's short-term memory. The test presented sequences of digits for the participant to recall in order. It began with 3-digit sequences and increased in length. The participant's memory span was determined to be 8 digits, which is considered average. The participant spent an appropriate amount of time and expressed frustration at mistakes. Nearby activity may have interfered with their performance.

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Akash Chopra
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707 views

Digit Span Test - Report

The document describes a digit span test conducted to measure a participant's short-term memory. The test presented sequences of digits for the participant to recall in order. It began with 3-digit sequences and increased in length. The participant's memory span was determined to be 8 digits, which is considered average. The participant spent an appropriate amount of time and expressed frustration at mistakes. Nearby activity may have interfered with their performance.

Uploaded by

Akash Chopra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Memory Span Test: Digit Span Test

Method

Aim: To measure the short term memory using a digit span test.

Plan: To conduct the computerised memory span task through digit span test with PEBL to the
subject.

Participant

Name: A.C.

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Occupation: Student

Materials: Digit span experiment on PEBL


Digit span test: Memory span test is one of the commonly used tests to measure short term
memory. The test could be performed with presentation of items that are words, images or
numbers. When the numbers are used as items, it is called as digit span test. During the test, the
working memory span is measured with sequential digits that can accurately be remembered.
Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL) version of the test is used in the current
experiment. The task consists of the presentation of three digits which are to be recalled. The
length of digits increased sequentially.

Procedure

The subject is seated comfortably. Rapport has to be established. The following subject
details are recorded: name (initials), age, sex and education. After the basic orientation to the
test, the subject will be asked to start the test. Sequences of numerical digits (from 0 to 9) are
presented on the screen for a few milliseconds. The correct sequence of the digits has to be
recalled and typed. The task starts with a three digit long number and the complexity increases
after each trial. The upper bound is10 digit long number that has to be recalled. Three lists of
digits are given for each trial length. Two consecutive wrong attempts leads to the end of the task
and the memory span of the person will be given at the end of the task. If two out of three lists
are completed correctly, then it will move on to the next longest list length. A few practice trials
have to be given to the subject to reduce the interference of response delay. Once the participant
has finished all the trials, the saved data will be downloaded in an excel sheet from the PEBL
response repository.

Instructions

The following instructions are to be given to the subject: “You are about to take part in a
memory test. You will be presented with a sequence of digits. Each digit will occur only once
during a list. You will then be asked to type the list of digits exactly in the order you saw them
in. If you do not know what digit comes next, you can skip over it by typing the ‘-’ key. Try to
put the numbers in the original list positions. If you make a mistake, you can use the backspace
key to make a correction. You will start with a list of three items and will get three different lists
at each length. If you are able to recall two out of three lists completely correctly, you will move
on to the next longest list length”.

Ethical Considerations
A rapport was built with the participant. The participants were briefed about the details of the
test and their informed consent was taken before starting. Their scores will be anonymous and if
necessary, they will be given to them with an explanation. The participant was informed they
were allowed to reconsider and stop participation at any time during the process as well.

Analysis of Results

The data on the responses of the participant was downloaded from the repository of
PEBL. The memory span is represented by the length of the number that could be recalled
correctly. The more the digit span, the more the working memory span is. The person will be
able to remember the digits like in the case of phone numbers, more accurately.
Results and Discussion

Table 1
Memory span of the participant
Length of Digit Span Total time Interpretation
8 4.23 Average working
memory.

An average participant is predicted to have a memory span of seven plus or minus two. And it
was determined that the participant received a score of 8, which is regarded as an average result.
The reason for the average score is that they must have never taken the test before. They spent an
appropriate amount of time overall given their score. Even after being told there was no time
constraint, the participant states they still felt the need to reply quickly. When they made a
mistake, they were frustrated, which might have led them to undertake another error at the next
trial. They were concerned that the nearby participants' images and audio would interfere, which
had an impact on their performance.

Conclusion
The memory span of the participant was measured to be 8, which can be interpreted as an
average working memory span.

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