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Short-term memory is the part of memory that stores a limited amount of information for a short amount of time. It’s brief (about 20 to 30 seconds), and you can only remember so much information (such as a five to nine-word list).
If you want to see for yourself just how short your short-term memory really is, try memorizing some of the word lists below. It can be a great way to learn more about your own limits and can even be an excellent exercise for boosting your memory powers.
At a Glance
Test Your Memory With Word Lists
This quick short-termmemorytest is a simple psychology experiment you can try at home. You can do this experiment on your own or with a small group of volunteers. By seeing how many words you can memorize in a brief period of time, you can learn more about both the capacity and duration ofshort-term memory.
Look at the list of words below for two minutes. Memorize as many words as you can in this amount of time. Next, get out a sheet of paper. Without looking at the list, give yourself two minutes to write down as many words from the list as you can.
How many words did you get correct? Despite having two minutes to memorize the words, you may have found it surprisingly difficult to recall even a handful of words.
This experiment demonstrates some of the limitations of short-term memory. According to researcher George A. Miller, the typical storage capacity for short-term memory is seven, plus or minus two items.
Try Chunking to Remember More
While short-term memory capacity is limited, some strategies may help improve it a bit. Memory rehearsal strategies, such aschunking, can significantly increase memorization and recall.
Because these items can be easily grouped based on category, you can probably remember far more of these words.Clusteringcan be a useful memorization strategy that can improve the retention and recall of information.
Perform Your Own Word Memorization Experiment
There are a number of different approaches you could take in conducting your own word memorization experiment.
Key Questions for Background ResearchOn average, how many words can a person remember?Can other factors such as gender and age have an impact on memory?Do people tend to remember certain words more than others?What strategies might improve memorization?
Key Questions for Background Research
On average, how many words can a person remember?Can other factors such as gender and age have an impact on memory?Do people tend to remember certain words more than others?What strategies might improve memorization?
When you are exploringpsychology experiment ideas, be sure to understandhow to conduct a psychology experimentto get accurate results and to perform experiments ethically.
Factors That Impact Performance on Word Lists
How well you do at recalling words on a memorization list depends on a variety of factors. Some issues that can affect your performance on memorization lists include things such as:
Another issue that might play a role is the serial position effect. It involves a tendency to recall words at the beginning or end of a list while having difficulty remembering those in the middle.
Better recall for words at the beginning of a list is known as theprimacy effect, and better recall for those at the end of a list is therecency effect.
How to Improve Your Short-Term Memory
If you’d like to strengthen your memory, some strategies can help you boost your memorization powers.
Always check with your doctor before trying any herbal supplement or remedy.
When to Get Help
Less than stellar performance on a memory word list isn’t necessarily a reason for concern. It might mean you are distracted, tired, or have difficulty concentrating. If you are noticing other problems with your memory, however, it is essential to discuss your concerns with your doctor.
Your doctor can evaluate your symptoms to determine if a medical or mental health condition might be affecting your memory.
Mental conditions such asdepressioncan lead to problems with memory and concentration. Medical conditions affecting memory include mild cognitive impairment, dementia,Alzheimer’s disease, infections, and medication side effects.
How to Improve Memory Effectively
9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kelley P, Evans MDR, Kelley J.Making memories: Why time matters.Front Hum Neurosci. 2018;12:400. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00400Von Bastian CC, Oberauer K.Effects and mechanisms of working memory training: A review.Psychol Res. 2013;78(6):803-820. doi:10.1007/s00426-013-0524-6National Institute on Aging.Do memory problems always mean Alzheimer’s disease?Gicas KM, Honer WG, Wilson RS, et al.Association of serial position scores on memory tests and hippocampal-related neuropathologic outcomes.Neurology. 2020;95(24):e3303-e3312. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000010952Hampshire A, Sandrone S, Hellyer PJ.A large-scale, cross-sectional investigation into the efficacy of brain training.Front Hum Neurosci. 2019;13:221. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00221Alzheimer’s Association.10 ways to love your brain.Knott D, Thaut MH.Musical mnemonics enhance verbal memory in typically developing children.Front Educ. 2018;3. doi:10.3389/feduc.2018.00031Yaribeygi H, Panahi Y, Sahraei H, Johnston TP, Sahebkar A.The impact of stress on body function: A review.EXCLI J. 2017;16:1057-1072. doi:10.17179/excli2017-480National Institute on Aging.Memory, forgetfulness, and aging: What’s normal and what’s not?
9 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kelley P, Evans MDR, Kelley J.Making memories: Why time matters.Front Hum Neurosci. 2018;12:400. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00400Von Bastian CC, Oberauer K.Effects and mechanisms of working memory training: A review.Psychol Res. 2013;78(6):803-820. doi:10.1007/s00426-013-0524-6National Institute on Aging.Do memory problems always mean Alzheimer’s disease?Gicas KM, Honer WG, Wilson RS, et al.Association of serial position scores on memory tests and hippocampal-related neuropathologic outcomes.Neurology. 2020;95(24):e3303-e3312. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000010952Hampshire A, Sandrone S, Hellyer PJ.A large-scale, cross-sectional investigation into the efficacy of brain training.Front Hum Neurosci. 2019;13:221. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00221Alzheimer’s Association.10 ways to love your brain.Knott D, Thaut MH.Musical mnemonics enhance verbal memory in typically developing children.Front Educ. 2018;3. doi:10.3389/feduc.2018.00031Yaribeygi H, Panahi Y, Sahraei H, Johnston TP, Sahebkar A.The impact of stress on body function: A review.EXCLI J. 2017;16:1057-1072. doi:10.17179/excli2017-480National Institute on Aging.Memory, forgetfulness, and aging: What’s normal and what’s not?
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Kelley P, Evans MDR, Kelley J.Making memories: Why time matters.Front Hum Neurosci. 2018;12:400. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00400Von Bastian CC, Oberauer K.Effects and mechanisms of working memory training: A review.Psychol Res. 2013;78(6):803-820. doi:10.1007/s00426-013-0524-6National Institute on Aging.Do memory problems always mean Alzheimer’s disease?Gicas KM, Honer WG, Wilson RS, et al.Association of serial position scores on memory tests and hippocampal-related neuropathologic outcomes.Neurology. 2020;95(24):e3303-e3312. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000010952Hampshire A, Sandrone S, Hellyer PJ.A large-scale, cross-sectional investigation into the efficacy of brain training.Front Hum Neurosci. 2019;13:221. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00221Alzheimer’s Association.10 ways to love your brain.Knott D, Thaut MH.Musical mnemonics enhance verbal memory in typically developing children.Front Educ. 2018;3. doi:10.3389/feduc.2018.00031Yaribeygi H, Panahi Y, Sahraei H, Johnston TP, Sahebkar A.The impact of stress on body function: A review.EXCLI J. 2017;16:1057-1072. doi:10.17179/excli2017-480National Institute on Aging.Memory, forgetfulness, and aging: What’s normal and what’s not?
Kelley P, Evans MDR, Kelley J.Making memories: Why time matters.Front Hum Neurosci. 2018;12:400. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00400
Von Bastian CC, Oberauer K.Effects and mechanisms of working memory training: A review.Psychol Res. 2013;78(6):803-820. doi:10.1007/s00426-013-0524-6
National Institute on Aging.Do memory problems always mean Alzheimer’s disease?
Gicas KM, Honer WG, Wilson RS, et al.Association of serial position scores on memory tests and hippocampal-related neuropathologic outcomes.Neurology. 2020;95(24):e3303-e3312. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000010952
Hampshire A, Sandrone S, Hellyer PJ.A large-scale, cross-sectional investigation into the efficacy of brain training.Front Hum Neurosci. 2019;13:221. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00221
Alzheimer’s Association.10 ways to love your brain.
Knott D, Thaut MH.Musical mnemonics enhance verbal memory in typically developing children.Front Educ. 2018;3. doi:10.3389/feduc.2018.00031
Yaribeygi H, Panahi Y, Sahraei H, Johnston TP, Sahebkar A.The impact of stress on body function: A review.EXCLI J. 2017;16:1057-1072. doi:10.17179/excli2017-480
National Institute on Aging.Memory, forgetfulness, and aging: What’s normal and what’s not?
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