In this study, Burnett and his colleagues were exploring visual working memory or more commonly known as short-term memory, and its improvement during childhood. Previous studies have analyzed the total amount of memory that one can withhold in this type of memory. Results from these studies have indicated that children can remember up to four items at a time. Though this previous research provides a basic understanding of how much a memory of a child can withhold Burnett decided to take a step further in their research and analyze the precision of memory in this population. The null hypothesis indicates that the precision of memory stays constant throughout ages. On the other hand, the alternative hypothesis that was proposed by the researchers
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From this population, a final sample of 87 participants were selected at random. The ages of these boys ranged from seven to thirteen years of age. The design of this study included a few tasks. These included a sensorimotor, color-naming task, and two visual memory tasks. These tasks were to be completed on a computer program were each individual was examined independently, which were over 35-minute sessions. The color naming task was the first to be completed. In this procedure, participants were shown five bars on the computer screen and were asked to name the colors they saw. Once each colored bar was named, the sensorimotor task was followed immediately. During this assignment, participants had to rotate a bar to match the angle of the target bar on the screen. They repeated this procedure for an additional 24 times. Then the boys were asked to complete two visual memory tasks. The first procedure was a one item condition they had to perform 30 trials. It was identical to the sensorimotor task previously mentioned, except this time, they had to remember the angle of the bar as it disappeared from the screen, and try to match the angle of the bar. Then second visual memory trial consisted of three items. Participants had to complete 90 trials that included three different colored
From this population, a final sample of 87 participants were selected at random. The ages of these boys ranged from seven to thirteen years of age. The design of this study included a few tasks. These included a sensorimotor, color-naming task, and two visual memory tasks. These tasks were to be completed on a computer program were each individual was examined independently, which were over 35-minute sessions. The color naming task was the first to be completed. In this procedure, participants were shown five bars on the computer screen and were asked to name the colors they saw. Once each colored bar was named, the sensorimotor task was followed immediately. During this assignment, participants had to rotate a bar to match the angle of the target bar on the screen. They repeated this procedure for an additional 24 times. Then the boys were asked to complete two visual memory tasks. The first procedure was a one item condition they had to perform 30 trials. It was identical to the sensorimotor task previously mentioned, except this time, they had to remember the angle of the bar as it disappeared from the screen, and try to match the angle of the bar. Then second visual memory trial consisted of three items. Participants had to complete 90 trials that included three different colored