Studying Short-term Memory

 Caryn Darmoni, Verrazzano Class of 2020, Completed Major in Psychology BS with a Minor in Spanish    

            Through my research over the last two years I learned how our memory operates and by what means it is affected. I explored a few theories in order to determine which theory was most accurate in describing how working memories are stored.       

Our working memory is also known as short-term memory. For example, this system allows us to recall directions for a recipe. We use this memory in our everyday life, and understanding the mechanisms by which it operates is important.The focus of my study was to investigate how a mask affects short term memory creation.       

Masking is the presentation of similar sensory input to obscure the sensory information of a target item. We presented a visual item, masked it, and examined the participants recall. We manipulated the available time to view the visual item before the mask was presented, and observed changes in memory recall, trying to understand how masking affected the creation of memories. We used mathematical modeling in order to distinguish between theories and determined which theory was most accurate. After analyzing our data and results, we found that masking disrupts consolidation, the process that creates the short term memory trace.

I enjoyed conducting my research and feel that I have gained much insight in the field, as well as experience on how research is conducted. I ran the experiments with CSI Undergraduate students as our participants. I explained to the students what to expect and how to perform the experiment, which was quick and if you didn’t pay close attention, you would surely miss the stimulus. Even when students paid attention, they were shocked by how quickly the screen would change and claimed that they wouldn’t be able to remember it. After a few practice trials, the students were able to understand the experiment and actually performed well, even though they thought they wouldn’t be able to recall.

I tried the experiment as well, and was amazed how I was able to recall an item that I saw for less than 200 milliseconds! I was surprised by how memory operates and how efficient it can be under different tasks. I think this research is particularly important for understanding working memory, and the factors by which it is affected, as it is used in our everyday lives. Studying, for example, uses the working memory in order to understand and process the information. If not given enough time to learn the information, then it can easily be forgotten. The present study enforces this as it shows that if consolidation is interrupted, then the item is not in memory. When using working memory, it is important to provide enough time to allow for consolidation to finish until completion, in order to be properly recalled.

I worked under the supervision of Professor Ricker. He was extremely helpful in guiding me through my experiment, creating my poster for the CSI Undergraduate Research Conference, and writing my thesis/capstone project. I am proud of the work I have put in and the results we found.