--Original published at Alex's Thoughts
My research scenario would be focused on how people’s literacy levels affect their memory. Does the amount that a person reads in their life affect how they perceive and remember the world around them? This particular question interests me, as I have noticed that people who tend to read more are often able to draw on the experiences depicted in the works they have read, even if they read the work very far in the past. The hypothesis that I would like to test would be that the more a person reads or has read, the better their memory should be, both short-term and long-term. As such, I would introduce a questionnaire to my participants with these questions.
- How often would you say that you read in a week?
- Give a rough estimate of the amount of books you have read in your life, and another estimate of the amount of articles you have read.
- What genre of books tends to hold your attention the most?
- Would you say that you are a forgetful person?
- What is your age?
- Would you describe yourself as a well-read person?
- If you enjoy reading, why do you enjoy it?
- What is your gender?
After the participants have filled out the questionnaire, I’d assign them a random candidate number to ensure their test results are paired with their questionnaires, while their actual identities remain anonymous. I’d have them play Simon Says, the simple memory game. I’d measure how far each candidate got in the game in terms of rounds. I’d allow each candidate five trials with Simon Says, then have them read a short story, no more than 10 pages. After that, I’d have them play five more trials of Simon Says. I’d then have them memorize the layout of a small fictional town, with a 3 minute time limit. This would be followed by 5 more trials of Simon Says. After the final trial, the subject should recite the plot of the short story to the best of their knowledge, especially with respect to character names, locations, and plot actions. This should be followed by five more trials of Simon Says, then finally, the subject will be given a blank map of the small town and asked to find and identify the major landmarks in the town. The trials with Simon Says is testing the subject’s ability to recall short-term events, while the plot summary is a test to recall long-term events. In the case that the person is not particularly literate, the map of the small town should provide an extra opportunity to test long-term memory. The interruptions with trials of Simon Says also provide an additional challenge for the person’s long-term memory to cope with a current task. I would be interested to see the results of such an experiment.