Shiort-term memory

Introduction

According to Wikipedia, short-term memory is "The capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time." Previous experiments have shown that the average human brain can hold 7 bits of information at a time using the short-term memory. Also, these experiments came to the conclusion that the brain usually holds information for about 18 seconds before forgetting more than half of it.

Before concluding that short-term memory existed, scientists created and used a number of tests where short-term memory was used. I was inspired by these tests to conduct my research. I wanted to determine whether age affects short-term memory or not. Since that capacity is essential for a person’s autonomy, I think it is a very interesting subject to work on.

Methods

To find out if age influences short-term memory, I put 8 mentally healthy women and 7 mentally healthy men of different ages through two quick tests. All these people were not connected in any sort of way. I followed the exact same steps when approaching any of these people. First, I talked to each of them in their first language. Then I told them that my research would help determine if short-term memory skills decrease as we age. Finally, I led them, one at a time, into a calm and quiet environment, where their concentration could be optimal.

For the first test, which implies auditory short-term memory, I gave them a pencil and a sheet of paper to write on. Then I read the following instructions to them:

"You are about to take a test that will evaluate your hearing short-term memory skills as soon as I have read these instructions. I will be reading aloud (in your first language) 9 series of numbers that you’ll have to remember one at a time. Once I’ll have read a series (at a rate of one number a second) you’ll have to write down the numbers you remember in order on the sheet of paper I gave you before. Do you have any questions?"

After that, the test took place. The results were put in a table of results that indicates the number of series where both numbers and order were successfully written down.

For the second test, which was used to evaluate short-term visual memory, I read the following instructions to them:

"You are going to take a test that will evaluate your visual short-term memory skills as soon as I have read these instructions. You will be handed a list of 12 different words and be asked to remember a maximum of these words during a precise period of time. Then, when I tell you, you’ll have to repeat out loud every word you remember, in any order. You’ll go through that process three times, with three different lists. Do you have any questions?"

After these instructions were read, the test began. The first time, the subjects had 1 minute to look at the list of words and then had to say the words they remembered right after the time was up. The second time, the subjects were also given 1 minute to look at the list of words, but had to wait 30 seconds before saying the words they remembered. The third and last time, the subjects had 2 minutes to look at the list of words, and had to say the words they remembered right after the time was up. The results were put in a table that indicates

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