Short-Term Memory Trace Decay in Kinesthetically Monitored Force Reproduction |
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| Authors: | Mary Lou Norrie |
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| Institution: | University of California , Berkeley , California , USA |
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| Abstract: | Abstract The decay of the memory trace for intervals of 1/2 min., 1 1/2 min., and 4 min. between the test stimulus and the reproduction trial was studied for a force reproduction task in which the amount of movement was very small, .13 in. The subject pushed against a handle attached to the top of a steel bar with the preferred hand. Sixty-three women volunteers from college physical education classes performed the experiment. For Part A all subjects first had four trials in which the reproduction was immediate (the control condition). Then they were divided randomly into three subgroups of 21, and each subgroup was assigned to one of the three retention intervals (experimental conditions) for four more trials. In Part B the whole experiment was repeated. For both absolute and algebraic error, analysis of covariance indicated no significant differences at the .05 level among the experimental conditons. Also, no significant differences were found comparing a condition in Part A with its respective condition in Part B. While there were no significant differences between control and experimental conditions for absolute error, significant differences were found for algebraic error. The algebraic error changed from considerable overestimation upon immediate reproduction to only slight overestimation after a 1/2-min. retention interval. |
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