I this tutorial, we will try two activities:
one looks at the limits of sensory, iconic memory by looking at "Change Blindness",
the other will measure Working Memory Capacity using digit span tests.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank Lee Miller and the other UC Davis Faculty who developed the Course NPB 110B for providing an initial version of this exercise. And we are grateful to the University of Idaho (http://gocognitive.net/) for developing the SWF demonstrations used in this tutorial.
Before you begin:
It is important that students arrive for this tutorial on time. The TAs will organise you into groups of about 5 or 6 students each. Working in groups is important for this tutorial because different groups will be running the experiments with slightly different parameters, and comparing the results from the different groups is an important part of the experiment.
All students are strongly encouraged to participate in the experiment. If you are uncomfortable or unable to perform the memory tests (e.g. due to a sensory or motor impairment) you may decline, but you must participate fully in the discussion.
Once you are organised into groups, start with part 1: Change Blindness.