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PSYCHOLOGY
PRACTICUM
CLASS XI
2020-21

SRI VENKATESHWAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL , SEC 18 , DWARKA ,

DELHI , 110078

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRACTICAL FILE

1. Practical File should be neatly written, headings to be typed. (sample will be
provided)
2. Don’t use red or pink ink pen.
3. Underline headings with a black pen (not red or pink)
4. A suggested format for writing a psychological testing report is given.
5. Every practical report should follow the given format.
6. “Introspective Report” is the written report given by the subject regarding
how he /she felt about the test.
7. Behavioural observation is examiner’s ie the test conductor’s observation of
the subject.
8. All the response sheets are to be kept safely, put in an envelope, and that
envelope is to be pasted in the file. (sample shown).
9. Conclusion and interpretation should be very precise.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRACTICAL EXAM -30 MARKS

Each student will be given one practical for administration as well as for
writing (full report starting from” Problem” to “conclusion”).
a) Viva will be taken on individual basis.
b) Read Practical file thoroughly.
c) Viva questions are given in this booklet. Viva is based on your practical and
related theory.

Format for Psychology Practical File

• Psychology Practical File with name

• Acknowledgement
• Introduction to psychological testing
• PRACTICALS
• Index
• EXPERIMENT NO: 1 – SPAN OF ATTENTION – SPAN OF
ATTENTION
• EXPERIMENT NO: 2 – IMPACT OF MEANINGFULLNESS OF
STUDYING MATERIAL ON
LEARNING
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SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR WRITING A PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT

REPORT REPORT
• TITLE
• PROBLEM
• INTRODUCTION
• HYPOTHESIS
* INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
* DEPENDENT VARIABLE
• DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT
• METHOD
* Material Required
• PROCEDURE
• Preliminaries
• Rapport Formation
• Instructions
• Precautions
* CONDUCTION
* Introspective Report
* Behavioural observation

• RESULTS

• INTERPRETATION
• CONCLUSIONS
• REFERENCES

NOTE: PRACTICAL FILE SHOULD BE HAND WRITTEN.

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PSYCHOLOGY
PRACTICAL FILE
NAME
CLASS & SECTION
(TO BE PRINTED on white sheet, and pasted On BLACK A4 Sheet)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Many people have played an important role for the completion of.
My practical work.
I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep
regards to my guide -----------------(HOD -PSYCHOLOGY) for
her exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement
throughout the course of this practical.

Also, I would like to thank all my friends who were subjects for
various experiments and tests, without their time and support this
would have not be possible.

I further extend my deepest gratitude to ______________

(Principal) for her help in my file work. Without their
encouragement and support, it would not have been possible.

I would also like to thank my parents for helping me to go my own

way. Last, but not the least, thanks to the almighty, who blessed
me and made all things possible.

YOUR NAME

(TO BE PRINTED ON A WHITE SHEET AND PASTED ON BLACK A4

SHEET)

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INTRODUCTION
TO
PSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTING
(TO BE PRINTED ON A WHITE SHEET AND PASTED ON BLACK A4
SHEET)

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Introduction to Psychological testing [WRITE WITH BLACK PEN]

What is Psychology?
Definition
Psychology is defined formally as a science which studies mental processes, experiences and
behaviour in different contexts.
Studies mental processes, experiences and behaviour.
Study of human mind and behaviour.
It means a science or the study of subject.

Concept of Behaviour, Experience and Mental Processes.

• • Nature of experience can only be understood by analyzing a complex set of internal

and external conditions
• • Behaviour is the response or reactions that are made or the activities in which
people are engaged in.
• • Overt and covert behaviour are associated with some stimulus in the environment or
changes that happen internally.

MENTAL PROCESSES

• ¬ We use our mental processes when we think or try to solve a problem, to know or
remember something.
• ¬ One level at which these mental processes are reflected is the brain activity. As we
think or solve a mathematical problem, our brain activities can be observed using
different techniques of brain imaging.
• ¬ However, we cannot say that brain activities and mental processes are the same,
although they are interdependent.
• ¬ Mental activities and neural activities are mutually overlapping processes but, they
are not identical.
• ¬ Unlike the brain, the mind does not have a physical structure or has a location. Mind
emerges and evolves as our interactions and experiences in this world get dynamically
organised in the form of a system which is responsible for the occurrence of various
mental processes.

• ¬ Brain activities provide important clues to how our mind functions. But the
consciousness of our own experiences and mental processes are much more than the
neural or brain activities. Even when we are asleep some mental activities go on.

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Experiences

• ¬ Experiences are subjective in nature. We cannot directly observe or know someone

else’s experience. Only the experiencing person can be aware or be conscious of her or
his experiences.
• ¬ Thus, experiences are embedded in our awareness or consciousness. Psychologists
have focused on experiences of pain being undergone by terminally ill patients or of
psychological pain felt in bereavement, besides experiences which lead to positive
feelings, such as in romantic encounters.

¬ Experiences are influenced by internal and the external conditions of the

experiencer. If you are travelling in a crowded bus during a hot summer day, you may
not experience the usual discomfort if you are going for a picnic with some close
friends

Behaviour

• ¬ Are responses or reactions we make or activities we engage in. When something is

hurled at you, your eyes blink in a simple reflex action. You are taking an examination
and can feel your heart pounding.
• ¬ You decide to go for a particular movie with a friend. Behaviours may be simple or
complex, short or enduring. Some behaviours are overt. They can be outwardly seen or
sensed by an observer.
• ¬ Some are internal or covert. When you are in a difficult situation while playing a
game of chess you almost feel your hand muscles twitching, trying to experiment with

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a move. All behaviours, covert or overt, are associated with or triggered by some
stimulus in the environment or changes that happen internally.

Examples

Behaviors are responses or reactions we make or activities we engage in. Examples of overt
behavior:

→ Blinking of eyes when a something is hurled at a person.

→ withdrawing the hand immediately after touching a hot pan.

Examples of covert behavior:

→ The twitching of hand muscles while playing a game of chess. → pounding of heart during
an interview.

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ENQUIRY

.
Steps in Conducting Scientific Research

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

Francis Galton (1822-1911) was the first scientist to undertake systematic and
statistical investigation of individual differences. He was preceded by other
psychologists who were either concerned with problem of dualism of mind and
matter or general problems and theories rather than individual differences.
Ernst Heinrich (1795-1878), educated as an anatomist and physiologist had
quantitative experimental approach to psychological problems. He experimented on
weight discrimination, vision, hearing etc.
Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801-87) who started his career in physics and chemistry
was more concerned about the application of exact methods of natural science to the
study of inner world i.e. the relation of mental processes to physical phenomenon.
J. Muller (1801-58), a professor of physiology was especially interested in the
physiology of the senses and in reflex action and did significant experiments in space
perception.
Alexander Bain (1818-1903) a professor of logic, mental philosophy and English
literature in Aberdeen University, utilized, organised and interpreted the works of
Weber and Fechner and tried to put them in application.
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) established the first lab of psychology in 1879 at
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Leipzing, Germany. He employed physiological methods and introspection in his

research.
Jean Esquirol (1772-1840) made the explicit distinction between mental illness and
mental deficiency. He also differentiated among the several levels of mental
deficiency. He tried to differentiate them on the basis of physical measurements,
especially size and formation of the skull but was not successful. He also said that
development and use of language is one of the most useful and valid criteria for
differentiating levels of mental deficiency.
On the other hand, Senguin (1812-80) developed methods in the training of mental
defectives. His methods emphasized the development of greater sensory sensitivity
and discrimination and of improved motor control and utilization.
The term mental test was first employed by McKean Cattell in a publication of
1890. Cattell tests were of memory, imagery, hearing, colour vision, reaction time
etc.
Binet and Simon (1905) developed the first standard scale of intelligence to
differentiate among three levels of mental deficiency- moron, imbecile and idiot.
Shortly after 1916 the most significant occurrence in psychological testing was the
development of group tests. During World war I government wanted to recruit
individuals in army by means of psychological methods. So, two group tests were
developed Alpha Verbal Test and Beta Non-verbal Test. This led to the use of
psychological tests in various fields.

Aptitude testing also received impetus in world war I. Aptitude tests was developed
to measure an individual’s ability to perform a task of specific kind... In World War I
aptitude tests were used to select men for tasks requiring specific skills. This was
followed by developing Occupational Interest Inventory, test batteries (during World
War II) personality tests, rating scales etc. Since the World War I the use of
psychological tests has continuously increased.

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS
EXPERIMENT- A carefully controlled scientific procedure conducted to determine
whether certain variables manipulated by the experimenter have an effect on other
variables.

HYPOTHESIS- A possible explanation for a behaviour being studied that can be

answered by an experiment or a series of observation. It can also be defined as
tentative answer to a problem.

VARIABLES- Factors that can be varied and can assume more than one value.

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INDEPENDENT VARIABLE- A variable that is controlled by the experimenter

and is applied to the participants to determine its effect.

DEPENDENT VARIABLE- A measurable behaviour that is exhibited by a

participant and is affected by the independent variable.

CONTROL GROUP- The group in which participants are treated identically to

participate in the experimental condition, except that the independent variable is not
applied to them.

EXPERIMENTAL GROUP- The group in which independent variable is

introduced

ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIMENTAL METHOD-

• It helps in discovering the causes of behaviour.

• It also helps in understanding cause and effect relationship.

DISADVANTAGES OF EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

• It cannot be used to study all kinds of behaviour.

• The experiments may produce results that do not apply in real life situations.
• They have low external validity.
• It is difficult to know and control all the relevant variables.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST- A psychological test is a standardized instrument

designed to measure objectively, one or more aspects of total personality by means of
verbal or non-verbal responses. Standardization means the test is objective, reliable
and valid.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST

• STANDARDIZATION- The procedures are specified precisely, so that

different testers will follow the same procedures when they administer the
same test to different subjects this means that test performance of different
people or the same persons at different times or occasions can be compared
directly.
• OBJECTIVITY- Objectivity refers to the fact that if two or more researchers
administer a psychological test on the same group of people, both of them
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would come up with more or less the same values for each person in the group.
The items convey the same meaning to everyone. Specific instructions and the
procedure for administering the test are specified. The impact of personal bias
is kept under control.
• NORMS- Norm is an average score on a particular test made by a specific
population. Reference to a test table of norms enables us to rank an individuals
performance relative to his own age group.

• RELIABILITY- It refers to the consistency of the scores obtained by an

individual on the same test on two different occasions.
Types of Reliability
Test Retest reliability- it is computed by finding co-efficient of correlation
between the two sets of scores on the same set of persons. It indicates the temporal
stability or stability of the test scores over time.
• Split Half Reliability-It gives an indication about the degree of internal
consistency of the test. The test is divided into two equal halves employing odd
even method.

Validity - The type of test being administered must measure what it is intended to
measure.

Types of Validity
Face Validity

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Face validity is a measure of how representative a research project is ‘at face value,'
and whether it appears to be a good project.

Content Validity

Content validity is the estimate of how much a measure represents every single
element of a construct.

Criterion Validity

Criterion Validity assesses whether a test reflects a certain set of abilities.

• Concurrent validity measures the test against a benchmark test and high
correlation indicates that the test has strong criterion validity.
• Predictive validity is a measure of how well a test predicts abilities. It involves
testing a group of subjects for a certain construct and then comparing them with
results obtained at some point in the future.

Construct Validity

Construct validity defines how well a test or experiment measures up to its claims. A
test designed to measure depression must only measure that particular construct,
not closely related ideals such as anxiety or stress.

STANDARDISED INSTRUCTIONS

Standardized instructions are given in the manual. The tester gives these instructions
only to maintain the uniformity.

UNIFORMITY IN CONDUCTION - The tester conducts the test in a uniform way

irrespective of their culture.

OBSERVATION

It is an effective method of describing behaviour. Witnessing an event and

recording.

STEPS OF OBSERVATION

1. a) Selection- Psychologists select a particular behaviour for observation e.g.

One may be interested to know how children behaviour behave on their first
day in school.
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2. b) B) Recording- the researcher records the selected behaviour using different

means such as marking tallies for a behaviour, taking notes describing each
activity in detail.
3. c) Analysis of data- Psychologists analyzes whatever they have recorded to
derive meaning out of it.

TYPES OF OBSERVATION

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION- This refers to observations done in natural

and real life settings. The observer makes no effort to control or manipulate the
situation. This type of observation is conducted in schools and hospitals.
Controlled observation- this type of observation is doe in laboratory experiments.
Participant observation- In this type of observation the observer becomes a part of the
group being observed.

Non- Participant Observation- In this type of observation, group or people are

observed from a distance or through a camera.

ADVANTAGES OF OBSERVATION METHOD

• Researcher obtains a data about a truly natural behaviour rather than a behaviour
that is reaction to experimental situation.

DISADVANTAGES OF OBSERVATION METHOD

• It can be difficult and time consuming

• Controls are lacking
• Difficult to generalize results
• Scientific objectivity is lost if experimenter interacts with the participants

SURVEY METHOD

It is a technique for sampling a wide variety of behaviour and attitude e.g. finding
out the attitude of people towards family planning. The survey research uses
different techniques like interviews, questionnaires and observations etc.
It can also be used to predict behaviour. Researcher must be careful in choosing the
sample. Advantage- It enables researcher to describe the characteristics of
relatively small sample and the generalize that information to a larger population

INTERVIEW

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It refers to a face to face conversation with a purpose to derive factual information,

opinions and attitudes etc. there can be two broad types of interviews- structured or
standardized and unstructured or non-standardized. A structured interview is the
one in where the questions in the schedule are written clearly in a sequence. In an
unstructured interview the interviewer has the flexibility to take decisions about the
questions to be asked; the wordings of the questions and the sequence in which the
questions are to be asked. Questions can be either open ended or closed ended.
Closed ended questions have specified responses. Open ended questions can be
answered the way respondent wants to.

CASE STUDY

It refers to in-depth study of a particular case. The case can be an individual with
distinguishing characteristics or a small group of individuals having some
commonality among them, institutions and specific events. A case study employs
multiple methods for collecting information such as interview, observation and
psychological tests. It provides in depth information about a person’s life but at the
same time validity in single case is quite challenging

CORRELATION STUDIES

Correlational studies are done to find relationships between variables for prediction
purposes. The strength and direction of the relationship ids determined y
correlational coefficient and its value can range from +1.0 to -1.0. The coefficient
of correlation is of three types- positive, negative and zero. A positive correlation
indicates that as the value of one variable increases, the value of other variable also
increases. Negative correlation indicates as the value of one variable increases, the
value of other variable decreases. Zero correlation indicates that there is no
relationship between two variables.

QUESTIONNAIRE

It consists of predetermined set of questions. The respondent has to read the questions
and mark the answers on the paper. Both open ended and closed ended questions can
be used in the questionnaire. The questionnaire is mainly used for collecting
background and demographic information, attitudes and opinions, knowledge about a
particular topic. It is the most common, simple and low cost self report method of
collecting information.

FIELD EXPERIMENT AND QUASI EXPERIMENTS

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In field experiment the researcher may go to the natural setting where the particular
phenomenon actually exists. For example teaching one group by demonstration
method and other group by lecture method and then comparing their performance. It
is more time consuming and expensive. In quasi experiment the independent variable
is selected rather than varied or manipulated by the experimenter for example in the
experimental group we can have children who have lost their parents in the
earthquake and in the control group who experience the earthquake but did not loose
their parents.

PERCENTILE RANK

An individual’s percentile rank on a test designates the percentage of cases or scores

lying below it. E.g. P-20 means the individual is situated above 20 percent of the
group fall below this persons rank.

DECILE RANK

It designates the one tenth part of the group in which any tested person is placed by
his score. E.g. A testee who has a decile rank of 10 is located in the highest 10
percent of the groups. It is used when the number of scores in a distribution is small.

STANINE – According to this method the standard population is divided into 9

groups. Stanine 1 is the lowest and stanine 9 is the highest.

STEN SCORES standard scores on a scale of ten

STANDARD SCORES- It designated the individual’s position with respect to the

total range and distribution of scores. The standard score indicates, in terms of
standard deviation how far a particular score is removed from the mean of the
distribution.

Z= X-M Where, X- individual score M- Mean SD SD- Standard deviation

Difference between test and experiment TEST

EXPERIMENT

It is standardized instrument used to measure

The researcher tries to manipulate
intellectual and non-intellectual characteristics of
the situation and tries to prove or
an individual through verbal or non-verbal
disapprove a hypothesis.
measures.
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It determines cause and effect

It evaluates certain attributes of an individual.
relationship between variables.

It does not have an hypothesis

It is standardized and has norms

It has a hypothesis.
It does not have norms and is meant for verification of various principles.

Psychological Tests

Psychological testing refers to the administration of psychological tests. A

psychological test is "an objective and standardized measure of a sample of
behavior". The term sample of behavior refers to an individual's performance on
tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand.
Performance on the items produces a test score. A score on a well-constructed test is
believed to reflect a psychological construct such as achievement in a school
subject, ability, aptitude, emotional functioning, personality, etc. Differences in test
scores are thought to reflect individual differences in the construct the test is
supposed to measure. The technical term for the science behind psychological
testing is psychometrics.
Types of tests
Tests have been developed to measure many different human developments. They are
classified as:
• On the basis of Administration – Group test and individual test
• On the basis of Behaviour – Ability tests [Intelligence tests and achievement tests],
Personality Tests [structures personality tests, projective techniques and
behavioural analysis]
• On the basis of context – Verbal tests, non-verbal tests, performance tests
(WRITE DETAILS FROM NCERT CHAPTER 1 CLASS XII)

USES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS

• These are used primarily for analysis and determination of individual differences in
general intelligence, aptitude, personality traits etc.

• Psychological tests are also used for a variety of psychological, educational,

cultural studies of groups as well as study of particular individuals.
• Test provides very useful information for educational and vocational guidance.

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• In schools, tests can be used to identify students with low as well high
intelligence.
• It helps in knowing the causes of behavioural problems.
• In clinics, psychological tests are used for individual diagnosis of factors
associated with personal problems of learning, behaviour or specific
interpersonal relations.
• In business and industry, tests are helpful in selecting and classifying personnel
for placement in jobs.

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PRACTICALS

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INDEX

S. No. Particulars Remarks Signature

1 Span of
Attention
2 Impact of
Meaningfulness
of studying
material on
learning

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PRACTICAL 1
TITLE: Impact of Meaningfulness of studying material on Learning

PROBLEM: To study the effect of meaningfulness on learning using list of

meaningful words to nonsense syllables.

INTRODUCTION:

Learning may be defined as "any relatively permanent change in behaviour or

behavioural potential produced by experience.”

1.Continuous vs Partial Reinforcement: In continuous reinforcement the

participant is given reinforcement after each target response. This kind of schedule of
reinforcement produces a high rate of responding. However, once the reinforce is
withheld, response rates decrease very quickly, in the responses acquired under this
schedule tend to extinguish. Since organism is getting reinforcement on each trial, the
effectiveness of that reinforce is reduced. In such schedule where reinforcement is not
continuous, some response are not reinforced. Hence, they are called partial or
intermittent reinforcement.

2. Motivation: Motivation is a mental as well as a physiological state, which arouses

an organism to act for fulfilling the current need. For example, a hungry rat is placed
in a box. The animal start searching food in the box. With repeated experience of
such activity, the animal learns to press the lever immediately after the animal is
placed there. Another example, have you ever asked yourself why you are studying
these subjects in XIth class? You are doing this to get good grades in your exams.
The more motivated you are, more hard work you do for earning. These two types of
motivation are called intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.

3. Preparedness for learning: The member of different species are very different
from one another in their sensory capacities and response abilities. It can be that
species have biological constrains on their learning capacities. A particular kind of
associative learning is easy for apes or human being but may be extremely difficult
for cats and rats. It implies that one can learn only those associations for which one is
genetically prepared.

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4. Meaningfulness: Yet another factor that contributes to the learning efficiency is

the meaningless and of the material be learned. if the material to be learnt is
meaningful and relevant to the rate of learning becomes rapid. The more meaningful
the material, the fewer the trials or practice session necessary to learn it.

HYPOTHESIS: it will take a fewer number of trials to learn meaningful words as

compared to non-sense syllables
Independent Variable: List A of non-sense syllables and list B of meaningful
words.
Dependent Variable: The number of trials required to learn each of the two
lists.

CONTROL:
1. Noise level was controlled.
2. Temperature label is at a comfortable level.
3. Light was adequate.
4. It was ensured that the subject was not tired or anxious.

DESIGN:
The experiment was designed in a way that List A of non-sense syllables was first
shown to the subject. Each non-sense syllable was to be expose for 10 seconds and
the entire list of 15 syllables was shown in 90 seconds ie 1.5 minutes.
This process was to be repeated was the same way for List B of meaningful words.
Materials Required
1. List A comprising of non-sense syllables.
2. List B comprising of words.
3. Paper, pen, pencil

PROCEDURE:
Preliminaries
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Qualification:
Place of conduction: Psychology Lab
Time:
Precautions
1. Optimal conditions for testing were ensured before the test begun
2. The tester should ensure that the subject is not familiar with the test.

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3. Subject should be assured of confidentiality of test results.

Rapport Formation
Rapport was established between the subject and the tester, prior to the test so that
he/she could feel comfortable and at ease. In such a state, she/he should answer the
questions in a calm manner and any doubts should be cleared before starting the test.
Instructions
The following instructions were given:
• You will be shown two lists, list A has meaningless words and list B will have
meaningful words.
• You will be shown each word for 10 second.
• After you have seen all the words from List A, then you will be given one minute
to write down the words that you remember in any order.
• However, the trials will continue till you are able to recall all the words correctly in
one minute.
• Similarly, the same procedure will be followed with List B.
ADMINISTRATION
After the instructions were given, the subject was asked the demographic details
which were noted.
The subject was then shown list A till she is able to recall all the words of List, no of
trials taken is noted. Similarly the subject was then shown list B till she is able to recall
all the words of List , no of trials taken is noted
Introspective Report
As reported by the subject
[You will paste the introspective report given by your subject on the blank sheet]
Behavioural report
Observe the subject’s behaviour in every trial and note it down.
Scoring
Total number of trails taken to recall List A completely and List B completely is
noted .
LIST LIST A LIST B
NO OF TRIALS TAKEN
TO RECALL

RESULTS:
The results were analysed on the basis on the trials required to recall words from both
lists.
List A-number of trials - 5
List B-number of trials-2

INTERPRETATION:

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After giving the instructions and ensuring that the subject had understood, the
experiment was conducted. The subject was shown in list A of non-sense syllables
and the trials where taken till the subject was able to recall all the words in the given
time.

Similarly List B of meaningful words were shown and one minute to recall them was
given to the subject to write down the words. The trials were continued till the subject
was able to recall all the words in one minute. Since the subject took less trials to
recall the meaningful syllables, it can be easily interpreted that meaningful words
help in learning.

CONCLUSION:
Since, the subject's number of trials to recall non-sense syllables were more than the
number of trials to recall meaningful words, the hypothesis is valid.

REFRENCES:
1. NCERT textbook, Psychology

SAMPLE LIST OF MEANINGLESS & MEANINGFUL WORDS

List-A List - B
WAF PEN
TEC BAT
REB HEN
CIZ MAT
BIX RAT
YOW FLY
ZOT SAT
DIR FAN
RUK BAN
FUM FAT
DAP CAN
SAH EAT
POQ CRY
XEY PAT
RIZ FAN
LUW CAT

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PRACTICAL 2
TITLE: 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 any 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
performing a memory task. Presumably, individuals that exhibit 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.

HYPOTHESIS: The subject's span of attention would be 7 + 2.

Independent Variable: The two lists consisting of series of numbers.
Dependent Variable: Number of digits recalled by the subject.

CONTROL:
1. Noise level was controlled.
2. Temperature label is at a comfortable level.
3. Light was adequate.
4. It was ensured that the subject was not tired or anxious.

DESIGN:
1. Prepare the two series of numbers which you wish to use.

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2. Make sure the number in the series are in a random order.

3. Now, call the subject and recite series. I, make sure you are reciting it in an
audible and clear tone.
4. Ask the subject to repeat the series in the same order. As you proceed further,
the number of digits would increase too.
5. If the subject makes a mistake anywhere, immediately go onto the next
series and recite that.

Preliminaries
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Qualification:
Place of conduction: Psychology Lab
Time:
Materials Required
4. List A comprising of non-sense syllables.
5. List B comprising of words.
3. Paper, pen, pencil

PROCEDURE:
Rapport Formation
Rapport was established between the subject and the tester, prior to the test so that he/she
could feel comfortable and at ease. In such a state, she/he should answer the questions in
a calm manner and any doubts should be cleared before starting the test.

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Instructions
The following instructions were given:
"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.
(ii) Do not repeat the series.
(iii) Speak in clear and rhythmic tone.
(iv) Whenever your subject makes a mistake, mark the mistake and note down what
he/she said.
(v) Make sure the instructions are clear.

ADMINISTRATION
The subject was called inside the room and seated comfortably. 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
set, the subject made a mistake on the 7th one.
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.”
(THIS IS SAMPLE INTROSPECTIVE REPORT, YOU WILL ASK YOUR
SUBJECT HOW DID SHE/HE FEEL DOING THE EXPERIMENT AND ASK
HIM TO WRITE DOWN THE SAME, SIGN WITH DATE.)

Behavioural report:
My subject was a little nervous beginning. But since it was a simple task, he became
calm and performed it without any difficulty. I explained the entire procedure once
and he interpreted the instructions correctly.
(THIS IS SAMPLE BEHAVIOURAL REPORT. Observe the subject’s behaviour in
every trial and note it down.)

Scoring
Number of series recalled from series 1 and series 2 is noted.
SERIES SERIES 1 SERIES 2
NO OF SERIES
CORRECTLY RECALLED

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INTERPRETATION:
The subject when read out the digits in series I, made a mistake in line 8 by replacing
4 with 8 and when read out the digits in series 2 made a mistake in line 9 by replacing
9 with 1. The performance was better in trial 2 as compared to trial. Thus, it is visible
that while conducting trial series I earlier and trial of series 2 later, there was
improvement in attention span of the subject.

CONCLUSION:
Hypothesis is proved true; the subject's attention span is between 7+2.

REFRENCES:
• 1.NCERT textbook, Psychology

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