Geoff and Sandy's Portal
Testing Short-Term Memory
Geoff Kirby
This is a very simple test of short-term memory based on the children's card game of 'Pairs'. It is not intended as a check on overall mental performance or be an indication of dementia symptoms. However, sudden changes in performance may be an indication of something worth checking with a medical practitioner.
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Take any two suits from a pack of playing cards. Shuffle them well and lay them out face-down in a grid as shown below.
Turn over the two cards in the bottom row. This counts as one 'go'. If these cards form a pair, discard them.
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If they are not a matching pair, turn them face down after memorizing their position and face values - if you can.
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Turn over the next pair in the row above. This counts as another 'go'. If one or more of these two cards match cards already seen and memorized, try to match the two cards. If a successful match is made, discard that pair, otherwise carry on with the game.
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Repeat this process trying to match cards turned over with cards already seen and discarding pairs successfully matched.
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When all cards have been seen, shuffle the remaining cards and lay them out face down in a grid again. Repeat this process until no cards are left unmatched.
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Record the number of 'goes' taken.
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It's that easy!
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Because there is a large random element in this game, repeat this game at least ten times each month and take the average score as the result for that month.
This chart shows the average number of my 'goes' varies by month. The dotted curves above and below the measurements are the confidence levels - the Standard Errors in the Means - but don't bother with that...
My ages are shown for each monthly measurement.
The lower horizontal line shows what would be expected for a person with perfect memory. The cards turned over are remembered without errors.
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The upper horizontal line is what would be expected for a player who is unable to remember the cards turned over. A successful turn of a pair only happens when the two cards turned over match.
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It can be seen that my memory is pretty good. I find I can remember about six cards reasonably reliably.
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My performance improved for the first five months because my memory was being trained in the task. After that time, my ability has been much the same. There is no deterioration in my short-term memory - as measured by my ability to remember cards, However, if my scores start to rise I will review what action - if any - I need to take.