| Show MEMORY AND THE AGE boston advertiser memory tests were made during 1891 on some 1500 pupils of this city in connection with the recent anthropological measurements taken under the direction of dr franz boas the subjects of the tests included members of the grammar schools above the second grade of the state normal school and of the senior and second year classes clams at the high school the method of making tile the tests testa was this in brief A series of numbers in which the digits did not stand in the accustomed order no single digit being repeated was read before each class to be tested each class was tested on four separate occasions in several instances where the purpose was to determine the effect of fatigue on the memory the tests being made before and after school after the reading the pupils wrote down the numbers as they recalled them twelve numbers constituted a single test 3 of 5 digits 8 of 6 3 of 7 3 of 8 in the lower grades in the higher grades and in the high school the first three observations observation were made with numbers of six digits and in the he genormal Normal school with seven different combinations were given at the different schools but the tests were essentially uniform atter after several trials pupils learned the num berof ber of digits to expect at each test and gave their attention more to retaining the figures in their respective places among the facts noted are these pupils 16 15 years and over do not remember six digits as well as pupils a year younger of 10 years and under 11 fall below those of 9 and under 10 the memory span increases with age rather than with the growth of intelligence telli gence as determined by the tests testa used for promoting pupils from one grade to another the tests do not apply to the retentiveness of the memory they may bp be considered as a test of the power of concentrated attention and the time it oar can be kept up the results or the computation based on the data collected have been plotted on charts to graphically represent several points the lines joining the points representing respective per cen of correctness in the tests are admirably summarized in eight conclusions elu clu first the memory span increases with age rather than with the growth of intelligence experience is a better school than books second the memory span measures the power of concentrated and prolonged attention third pupils unconsciously remember digits that they heard the day before when digits are read them a second time fourth the tests do not show the effects eilerts of fatigue when made after a days work showing the work in the schools is not excessive 5 memory in ages passes through three stages in leaving the mind 6 ideas previously in the mind and associated forms of ideas are factors in causing a confusion of the memory image and its final loss lose 7 there to is an apparent tendency to overestimate the he number of ideas presented to the mind the number of ideas is slightly greater than the memory span but the general rule is in to underestimate the number 8 ideas except the last of a serien arp more lasting in inverse order as r removal from the beginning 1 of the series in which they occur |
