
Chunking and Memory Recall
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Can grouping symbols together help you remember more of them? Your brain processes information in different ways. One method is called chunking (organizing items into clusters instead of memorizing them one by one).
You create two poster boards with the same symbols. The first board shows the symbols in a random order. The second board shows the same symbols grouped into chunks. Each participant studies a board for 30 seconds and then repeats back as many symbols as possible.
Compare the total correct responses between the two boards to see whether chunking boosts recall.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that people can remember more information if it is grouped together.
Method & Materials
You will test 10 participants by presenting them with two poster boards. The first poster board will show random symbols, and the second poster board will show the symbols grouped together. You will ask the participants to memorize the symbols for 30 seconds, then ask them to repeat back as many symbols as they can remember.
You will need 10 participants, two poster boards, a marker, a watch with a second hand, and a data table.
Results
The results showed that the participants were able to remember more symbols when they were grouped together. This suggests that chunking can be an effective way of providing context to information so that it can more easily be retained and retrieved from memory.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it demonstrates how chunking can be used to help people remember more information.
Also Consider
Variations of this experiment could include testing different age groups or testing different lengths of time for memorizing the symbols.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related video
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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