Remember This? Test Your Memory!

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” you’ll hear people say.  You probably have your own memories too, like what you ate for breakfast, or what you did on your last birthday.  Our memories are very important; they help us learn at school, recognize our friends and family, and even find our way around.  But just what are memories, and how do we get them?

Memory is one of the things our brains do for us: they take information from all around us and store it so we can retrieve it (get it back) at a later time.  The part of the brain mostly responsible for our memory is called the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped ridge of tissue buried in the middle-lower part of the brain (it would be near the base of your skull, behind your eyes).  People who have damage in this part of the brain cannot form new memories, so despite its being pretty small, it’s very important!

So how good is your memory?  Well, let’s find out!  Go get a piece of paper, a pencil, and a stopwatch.  Take a look at the objects below for 30 seconds (be sure to use a stopwatch or a clock with a second hand so you only get 30 seconds)!  Try to memorize all the different objects you see here.  When 30 seconds is up, scroll down so you can’t see the pictures anymore, and write down all the items you can remember.   Don't cheat by looking at the pictures!!

How many objects could you remember?  Look back at the picture to see which ones you may have missed.

You may have a very good memory, but did you know it can play tricks on you?  Take a look at the new set of objects on the next page for 30 seconds.  Be sure to time yourself, or have someone time you, and when 30 seconds is up, scroll down!

Now from the list below circle the two items that were in the picture.

1.      Eggs

2.      Slide

3.      Coat

4.      Hat

5.      Guitar

6.      Shoes

7.      Books

8.      Banana

9.      Bell

10.    Radio

Did you list books as being in the picture?  Take a look at the picture again; books are not one of the objects (the two that were in the picture were the slide and the guitar)! 

How did that happen?  All of the items in the picture are things you see at school, so your memory categorized the picture as being of things you see at school.  So when you saw the word books, your memory decided that is also something you must see at school, and so it must have been among the items in the picture.  This is called a false memory, and it happens when our memories cause us to believe we saw or experienced something that did not really occur.   (Don’t worry, false memories like these are not dangerous, and are not a sign of any problems with your memory!)

TEST YOUR FRIENDS WITH A FEW MEMORY CHALLENGES!

Challenge #1: Memory Test

Here’s what you’ll need:

1.      A lunch tray, or a small table

2.      A towel or a sheet

3.      Paper and pens for all your friends

4.      A stopwatch, timer, or a clock with a second hand

5.      15-20 different items

 


Here’s what to do:

1.      Place all the items you selected on the tray or table, and cover them with the towel.

2.      Invite your friends to stand around the table, and uncover the items.  Allow 30 seconds to look at the objects and try to memorize them.

3.      After 30 seconds, cover the objects again and hand out pens and paper.

4.      Ask everyone to write down the objects they remember.

After everyone has finished, allow your friends to look at the items again. 

Were there any items that all your friends remembered?  Were there any that nobody remembered?  Write down items that were either easy or hard to remember.

Challenge #2: False Memory Test

Here’s what you’ll need:

1.      Pens and paper for all your friends

2.      A timer or stopwatch

3.      The lists of words below*

List 1*: read, pages, letters, school, study, reading, stories, sheets, cover, pen, pencil, magazine, paper, words

List 2*: house, pencil, apple, shoe, book, flag, rock, train, ocean, hill, music, water, glass, school

Here’s what to do:

1.      Read List 1 aloud to your friends.

2.      Wait 5 minutes.  Be sure to set a timer!

3.      Pass out paper and pens.

4.      Ask them to listen to the next list, and write down which words they remember from List 1.

5.      Read List 2 aloud.  Allow everyone to write down the words they believe they heard on List 1.

6.      Read List 1 aloud again. 

How many people thought “book” was on List 1? 

This is a false memory (only “pencil” and “school” were on List 1)!  Be sure to let them know false memories aren’t dangerous!

MAKE UP YOUR OWN MEMORY TESTS!

·         Try having your friends walk around a room for 30 seconds.  Then have them leave the room, and you make some change, like remove something or turn something upside-down.  Let them re-enter the room and see how many people notice the change.

·         Make up your own lists of words like the ones you used for Challenge #2, or groups of pictures like those on pages 2 and 4.  See if you can create a false memory!

REMEMBER:  Always be sure to write down all your observations!

*These lists were created by Eric H. Chudler, PhD.  For more memory tests created by Dr. Chudler, please visit Neuroscience For Kids at https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmemory.html