TESTS OF MEMORY

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 65, 18 March 1936, Page 16

TESTS OF MEMORY

At the beginning of October of one particular year the writer started a course of lectures,” says Mr L. Wynn Jones, in ‘‘Character and Personality. ‘‘There were two periods, each of an hour, with 80 men. also similar periods with 58 women. At every period the register was called. It should be added that there was little opportunity to get acquainted with-these students during the first term. During the second and third terms 15 of the men and 'h of the women continued the course. The men were divided into two groups, likewise the women. There was one period of an hour each week with each group, and the register was called at every period. “At the end of March, that it, six months after the first meeting, it was found,” adds Mr Wynn Jones, ‘‘that on looking at the register the write) was unable to conjure up the faces ol 21 men out of the 45, or of seven women out of the 27. At the begining of the following October, that is, 12 months after the first meeting, the was repeated, aud the result was nearly the same as before —namely, the faces of 21 men and seven women could not be recalled on sceinp their names.

“Of the 44 faces which could be recalled, it was possible to say whether the visual image was clear, moderately clear, or faint. Moreover, the reliability was very high, as was discovered on repeating the judgments after an interval. “Other conclusions were mostly what would be expected. They nmv be summarised thus:

“1. Those who consult the lecturer, either inside or outside the classroom, tend to be remembered.

“2. Those who do well or badly in the examinations tend to be remembered.

Recalling Faces and Names

“3. Those who are good-looking, or those who exhibit some striking paysical trait, tend to be remembered.

“4. Those' ot average ability wiio cake nc steps likely to attract attention —e.g., by consultation regarding their work, tend to be forgotten. “Heplies to tho following questionnaire were given by GI men graduate students:

“I. Do you often find when you meet someone you have not seen lor a long time that you cannot remember the name, although the face is familiar? Do you think that you can remember names in this way better or worse than the average?

“2. On seeing the name of someone you have not seen for a long, time, do you often find that you cannot remember what the' face was like? Do you think you can remember faces in this way better than the average? “3. What causes you the greater inconvenience, forgetting names or forgetting faces? “4. In your last year at school before entering the university, do you remember the naines and faces of those in your class? “Enter the numbers in four columns thus: Names and faces remembered, faces only remembered, Names only remembered, faces and names forgotten. “It must suffice now to note that 13 men thought they were above the average for remembering names, whereas 33 men thought they were above the average for remembering faces. Fortysix confessed to ‘great inconvenieee for forgetting names and only 11 for fargetting faces. “The majority had no difficulty in remembering the naines and faces of the fellow scholars three years back ”