Activity 4.2

I learned that the time I spent with the information (duration) and the amount (capacity) of information presented had an impact on what I could remember.  Also, the more familiar I was with an object the easier it was to remember.  The task of remembering the various countries was a challenge (complex task) because I do not use the names of countries routinely.  When asked to remember numbers after the attractiveness rating I was not able to remember any numbers.  This was a great example of interference that was mentioned in the PowerPoint slide.  I was a member of group B for exercise fourteen related to meaningfulness in recall.  I was able to recall all but one of the answers.  This validated that meaningfulness of associations (familiarity) helped overcome the interference (time delay) in answering the questions.  As a side note, my cell phone rang during one of the exercises.  I did not answer, but it was a distraction that effected my ability to concentrate.

These were great exercises that allowed me to experience how my short term memory works.  I was not surprised by my results.  It is challenging for me to remember information that is intended for short term memory.