Short Term Memory In Psychology

Psychology is a vast field that is rapidly growing and changing, as science is better able to look into the human brain and body. To learn about a field that has made so many dramatic changes over the last few centuries, it is important to understand what the goal of the field is and how to achieve those goals. Psychology is the study of the human condition, and while the field of psychology has changed throughout time, its purpose remains the same- to better understand how and why humans act the way they do. According to Dictionary.com’s definition, the word “psychology” stems from the latin roots “psych” and “ology”, literally meaning the study of the soul, however psychology is more than the sum of its parts (Psychology, n.d.). It is a quest to answer a …show more content…
Once a hypothesis is formed, a psychologist can begin testing his/her hypothesis through surveying, experimenting, and/or observing. After the hypothesis is tested, results can be shared and peer reviewed so others can repeat the experiment and explore new questions revealed by tests. In my own venture to learn more about psychology and better understand the discipline, my senior science fair project focused on extraversion versus introversion and its impact on short term memory. For the project, I had to research different theories on introversion and extraversion and how memory works. From there I had to form a hypothesis supported by my research. Once my hypothesis was formed, I could set up my experiment in which I used a questionnaire to determine where subjects were on a scale of extraversion and a short term memory test. After performing my experiment, I had to collect my data and determine what my results met through statistical significance. While my result proved to be statistically insignificant, I learned how to implement the scientific method to obtain knowledge in the field of