Is Black and White or Colored Text More Easily Remembered?

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this experiment was to determine if colored versus black and white printed words affects human memory. Methods/Materials Procedure: 1. Create all of the materials (list one and two); Gather the words for the lists by using a spelling book from a grade lower than the grade your subjects are in; Randomly select half the words to print in a bright color; Write the instruction script for each group before they begin the experiment. 2. Get together a small test group: ten people, about five boys and five girls. 3. Have the people sit in the same room away from each other and get comfortable. 4. Read the instructions to the group before they see "List #1". 5. Hand out "List #1". 6. Instruct them to read the list carefully for two minutes. 7. After exactly two minutes, take away the list. 8. Let them leave for 30 minutes before giving them "List #2". 9. After an hour is over, call the subjects back to take "List #2". 10. Give each person "List #2". 11. Read them the second set of instructions. 12. Give them two minutes to select their answers on "List #2". 13. After the two minutes are over, gather all of the tests. 14. Check their answers with a key that has all the right answers. 15. Record the information. 16. Repeat steps 1-15 as many times until all subjects have been tested. 17. Compare the data to see if they remembered words in color better, or words in black and white. Materials: QUANTITY ITEM DESCRIPTION 100-500 People around the same age 80 List #1#s. 20 words, half black and white, half color. 100-500 List #2#s. 40 words all in black and white. All of the words from list one, 20 new words. On the left of each word there is a check-off box. Each person has to check off 20 words they can remember from the first list. Results The average for color was 7.5 and for black and white words 6.65. Conclusions/Discussion The results indicate that my hypothesis was wrong. For boys they remember colored words more and girls remember black and white words more. The average for black and white words boys remembered 6.4 words and the girls remembered 6.9 words. For colored text boys remembered 7.7 and girls remembered 7.3 words. As a group they remembered colored words more. The average for color was 7.5 and for black and white words 6.65.

Competition history

• CSEF 2006 Behavioral Sciences · Entry J0324

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

• All Behavioural and Social Sciences projects
• CSEF Behavioural and Social Sciences projects
• Every CSEF 2006 project