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Span of Attention Practical

The document discusses testing the span of attention of digits in a subject. It describes Miller's theory that the span of attention is between 5-9 digits. Two series of random numbers were read to the subject and their recall was recorded, with mistakes occurring on the 9th digit for the first series and 7th digit for the second. The results supported the hypothesis that the subject's span of attention is between 7-9 digits.

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234 views3 pages

Span of Attention Practical

The document discusses testing the span of attention of digits in a subject. It describes Miller's theory that the span of attention is between 5-9 digits. Two series of random numbers were read to the subject and their recall was recorded, with mistakes occurring on the 9th digit for the first series and 7th digit for the second. The results supported the hypothesis that the subject's span of attention is between 7-9 digits.

Uploaded by

mriduldrall3
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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SPAN OF ATTENTION

>Aim: To determine the span of attention of digits in the subject.


Introduction
What is span of attention?
Span of attention is defined as the amount of concentrated time on a task without being
distracted.
Miller's theory of span of attention.
According to Miller, our span of attention varies between the limits of 7+2 i.e., between
5 to 9. These are also called the "Magical numbers". What this implies is that at anv
given point in time, an individual can attend to a set of 5-7 numbers/characters, which
can be extended to 9 or more in exceptional cases.
The concept of chunking
Chunking in psychology is a phenomenon whereby a group of familiar stimuli is
stored as a single unit. It is a phenomenon where individuals group responses while
performinga memory task. Presumably, individualsthatexhibit the "chunking" process
in their responses are forming clusters of responses based on the items perceptual
features. The chunks are meaningful to the participant. Assimilation of different items
according to their properties occurs due to individuals creating higher order cognitive
representations of the items on the list that are more easily remembered as a group
than as individual items, themselves.
Series 1
Series 2
2 19 5 82
4 3 5 8 3 1 46
7 09 6 2 7 9 153
5 14 3 82 4 2 6 6 07
9 8 34 1 7 8 1 9 3 02 5
106 97 25 6 02 74 138
3 9 584 0 12 6 2 9 5 30 7 9 1 6
7 5 3 s2 10 4 6 43 2 16 708
93 54s621 935|o932156 7 0
4 8 3 2 9 07 5 4 3 2 8 6 4 8 3|2|9|1o7 4 6 8
Hypothesis: The subject's span of attention would be 7t2.
Independent Variable: The two lists cornsisting of series of numbers.
»Dependent Variable: Number of digits recalled by the subject.
Design of the experiment: Prepare the two series of numbers which you wish to use.
Make sure the number in the series are in a random order. Now, call the subject and
recite series. I, make sure yaire reciting it in an audible and clear tone. Ask the subjectto
repeat the series in the same order. As you proceed further, the number of digits would
increase too. If the subject makes a mistake anywhere, immediately go onto the next
series and recite that.
Preliminaries:
Name: Saraj Singh Madan Age: 12+
Sex: Male Condition: Normal
> Procedure:
Rapport formation: The subject was called to the room and was asked to settle
down comfortably. Subject was asked to remain calm. All the apprehensions were
settled and doubts were cleared.
Instructions: "Please be seated comfortably. You have to perform a simple task. I will
begin by reading a series of numbers and following me you will repeat the digits in the
same order. Listen carefully as I will not be able to repeat the series. When I say start, I
will begin reading the digits. If you have any questions, ask now before we start."
Precautions:
() When creating the series of numbers, make sure there are no repetitions in the first
8 and in the other 4 repetitions should be placed far apart.
(i) Do not repeat the series.
(iin) Speak in clear and rhythmic tone.
( ) Whenever your subject makes a mistake, mark the mistake and note down what he/
she said.
() Make sure the instructions are clear.
Conduction: The subject was called insidetheroom and seatedcomfortably.Preliminaries
were taken and instructions were read out. The first set starting from 3 digits was read
out and the recall was recorded till the subject made a mistake on the 9th one. On

moving to the next the


set, made a mistake on the 7 one.
subject
Table of Results

Series 1 Series 2 3
2 1 19 582
4 3 58 3 14 6
7 0 96 2 7 9 15 3
5 14 3 8 2 4 2 86 0 7
2 9 83417 8 1932 5
10697 2 58 6 0 2 74 13 8
3 95s|40 126 2 9 5 3lo 7 1 6
7 5 38 2 1 0 4 6 9 8 4 3 216 7 8

x93 5 62 1093 5 1 0 93 2 1 56 7 0

L4 832||o 7 5 4B 2864 B3 2 9 10 7 46 8
Introspective report: "I found the experiment very interesting and easy. However, in
the beginning I was excited and nervous at the same time that I will make a mistake
Somewhere."
Behavioural report: My subject was a little nervous beginning. But since it was a
task, he became calm and performed it without any difficulty. I explained the entire
simple
procedure once and he interpreted the instructions correctly.
>Analysis and Interpretation of Results: The subject when read out the digits in series
I, made a mistake in line 9 by replacing 4 with 8 and when read out the
2 made a mistake in line 7
digits in series
by replacing 9 with 1. The performance was better in trial 1
and due to some reason not as
good as trial 1 in trial 2. Thus, it is visible that inspite
of conducting trial series I
earlier, there was no improvement in attention of tne
span
subject.
Conclusion: Hypothesis is proved true, the
subject's attention span is between7t2.

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