Project 1 Memory Span

The function of this project is to provide a demonstration of memory span. Pair up with a classmate and test four individuals: a 3-year~oid, a 6-year-old, a 9-year-old, and a classmate. The task is a digit span task. Present a list of digits to each subject at the rate of one per second, and have each subject repeat as many digits as he or she remembers. One of you will present the digits and the other will record the subject's response. Use the following work sheets for data collection and then answer the questions that follow.

Task Child 1 Child 2 Child 3 Adult

Age____ Age____ Age____ Age____

Sex____ Sex ____ Sex___ Sex____

Digits Response: Response: Response: Response:

2

74

196

2389

64157

326890

7509621

92503184

849276304

Number of correct

digits out of:

one

two

three

four

five

six

seven

eight

nine

Questions

1. How many digits would a 3-year-old remember? Was it the same number regardless of the number of digits presented? How many could the 6-year-old, the 9-year~old, and the classmate remember? Was the number different depending on the number presented? In what way was the number different?

2. Did you find age differences for memory span? What is the nature of the differences observed? Could anything besides memory span account for the differences? (Consider possible sex differences , if applicable or differences in the child's understanding of his or her role in the task.)

3. From, your data, what statement could you make about the development of memory span from 3 years to adulthood? What qualifications, if any, would you need to make about your statement, based on the limitations of your data?

Research Project 2 Language Errors

This class project exposes you to the kinds of errors that children make when they are acquiring language. Pair up with another student in the class. One of you will act as the experimenter, while the other will act as the observer. Test two different children, one 3 to 4 years of age, the other 7 to 8 years of age. In order to test the two children, you will need to clear this through the human subjects review board at your school and get a signed informed consent form from the children's parents.

The children will receive three different tasks evaluating their understanding and use of the passive construction. Present an act-out task, an imitation task, and a production task. The task and sentence descriptions follow. Use the accompanying data sheets to record observations. Then answer the questions that follow.

1. Act-out task: Have several objects available, a toy car and truck, a toy doll, a toy horse, cow, dog, and cat. Read the sentences below one at a time, and have the child act out the sentences with the toys.

2. Imitation task: Present each of the sentences below to each child, and have the child repeat the sentences back to you.

3. Production Task: Perform the actions in each of the sentences below with the toys for the child. Ask the child to tell you what happened, starting with the first noun in the sentence. For instance, for item e roll the car along so that it hits the truck, and then ask the child to tell you what happened beginning with the truck.

a. The car hit the truck.

b. The dog was kicked by the cat.

c. The boy was bitten by the dog,

d. The boy hit the cat.

e. The truck was hit by the car.

f. The cow stepped on the horse;

g. The cat kicked the dog.

h. The cat was hit by the boy. i. The dog bit the boy.

j. The Horse was stepped on by the cow.

Task Child 1 Child 2 Sex____Age____ Sex____Age___

Act-out task

Sentence a

Sentence b

Sentence с

Sentence d

Sentence e

Sentence f

Sentence g

Sentence h

Sentence i

Sentence j

Imitation task

Sentence a

Sentence b

Sentence с

Sentence d

Sentence e

Sentence f

Sentence g

Sentence h

Sentence i

Sentence j

Production task

Sentence a

Sentence b

Sentence с

Sentence d

Sentence e

Sentence f

Sentence g

Sentence h

Sentence i

Sentence j

Questions

1. What did the 3- to 4-year-old child do on the act-out task? The imitation task? The production task? Was performance on one task better than on the others? If so, which? What sorts of errors appeared in the act-out task? What about the imitation task? The production task? Were the errors similar in the various tasks?

2. What did the 7- to 8-year-old child do on the act-out task? The imitation task? The production task? Was performance on one task better than on the others? If so, which? What sorts of errors appeared in the act-out task? What about the imitation task? The production task? Were the errors similar in the various tasks?

3. Compare the two children. What differences if any did you see on their performances on these three tasks? How would you account for the differences? What is the nature of language learning that seems to be occurring during this time?

4. What criticisms could be leveled at the procedures you used in this demonstration? For example, do you think each task should have had different questions?

Chapter 9