Victoria Winter Pd.

7 Jensen Conclusion The Effect of Background Noise on Short Term Memory was an experiment done to test how well a subject could remember a sequence of numbers in a given 30 seconds while different noises were played in the background. If there is more background noise in a room, then the test subject will have a harder time remembering the sequence because they wont be able to focus. This experiment was set up so that the test subject was given an index card with a ten numbernumber sequence, with numbers ranging from 0-9. As they were given this they listened to a noise for 30 seconds. An example of one of the noises was the sound of a crowd of noisy children. When the noise stopped after 30 seconds, the card was given back to the experimenter and they were to repeat the numbers they remembered in the order they remember them. The experimenter then wrote down how many numbers they got correct, whether they were in correct spot in the sequence or grouped with the right numbers. The subject was given a 10 numbernumber sequence because it is the equivalent of memorizing a phone number, something most people memorize on a daily basis. There were six different noises

picked because they were all different and through the data, one could tell which noise distracted people the most and which noise did not. The subject was only given 30 seconds to memorize the numbers because after 30 seconds people lose interest and are not as pressured to memorize them as quickly because they feel they have lots of time. Also, any more than 30 seconds would have made the experiment longer than it needed to be, due to having six different independent variables. The dependent variable was the number of #s memorized and the independent variable was the background noise. This dependent variable was chosen because it tests short term memory the best. It was tested against background noise because on many occasions when people are taking a test or studying, there is usually noise in the background. This dependent variable tested how distracted the test subject would get by the noises and showed which noises were greater distractions. The data in this experiment somewhat supported the hypothesis. All of the averages for the numbers correct out of ten were very close in number and there was not an outlier. In this experiment it was very hard to tell which noises were greater distractions because it all depended on the test subject and what their reactions were to each noise. The data suggests that each noise was very similar in how distracted people became because as shown in the graph, each noise had very close averages. The averages for the background noises of clock, lobby, children,

rain, none and university crowd are, in the same order, 6.5, 6.7, 6.9, 7, 7.02, and 7.2. They are all around the same number: 7.The ranges for this data were all the same, 9, because there were 10 numbers and ranging from 0-9. The range shows that the number of #s memorized ranged from none memorized to all memorized and every whole number in between. The data had low standard deviations such as,in the same order as above, 2.9, 2.88, 2.7, 2.45, 2.9, 2.6. The error bars on the graph were all around the same length because the averages were very close in number, rain, though, has the shortest error bar because it had the standard error of 0.34, the lowest of them all. The longest error bar was for no background noise because it had a standard deviation of 0.41, the highest of them all. These results show which noises distract people the most and will be useful in the greater world because often people get distracted by noises when they are trying to concentrate on something and can use these results to see which ones are more distracting than others. In the past, people have conducted experiments similar to the Effect of Background Noise on Short Term Memory. For example, in one experiment a woman tested the volume of music on short term memory by having the test subjects memorize a sentence while listening to different volumes of music and found that at the loudest she played the music, the subjects found it harder to concentrate. Another experiment was done by a man who tested different types of music on short term memory by having the test subjects read a number sequence

and memorize it while listening to various types of music and found that the most distracting noises were ones with loud drums such as rock and slow songs such as classical. The constants that werent accounted for in the include, the sequence given for the specific sound-not every subject got the same sequence for the same sound-, the places tested were meant to be quiet but not always were, and the volume the noises were played at were not consistent throughout all the data collection. The number of participants was 51 which is a significant number but better results would have come from getting at least 20 more. The independent and dependent variables chosen were the best for this experiment because distractions are often caused by noises heard. Other independent variables could have been the loudness of the noises or the experiment could have been on other noises such as animals or classroom noises. The tools and equipment that could be used was instead of playing the noises through a laptop they could have been played through a stereo or a device with large speakers. The major human error made was that the number sequence given to the test subject for the first noise was not always the same sequence given to another test subject for first noise, so there was an inconsistency with the number sequences given for each noise. If this experiment were to be done again the noises would change so that they varied in how distracting they were because three of the noises sounded very identical. Also, if this experiment were to be done again, there would be a specific sequence

designated to each specific sound so the numbers memorized are accurate. Another project that could be tested could be the effect of different types of music on short term memory.