Learning performance of humans

Principle

The blindfolded test subject has to find the way to the finish with a felt-tip pen in the slits of a finger labyrinth. Success and error are checked by placing a sheet of paper underneath. If a person has to find his way through a labyrinth, he will first of all attempt to obtain an overall view of the labyrinth. If, however, an overview of the labyrinth is prohibited, the test subject is obliged to find his way by trial and error. In the first attempt incorrect paths are frequently selected and the time taken to cross is relatively long. In subsequent practice crossings the number of errors as well as the time required are reduced steadily, until the values settle at a particular level.

Benefits

• Exciting student experiment
• Simple, but effective experiment to teach short-term and medium-term memory

Tasks

• Determination of the learning curves for two different test objectives by crossing the maze (1) with the least number of errors and (2) as quickly as possible

Learning objectives

• Finger labyrinth
• Learning behaviour
• Learning curve
• Short-term memory
• Medium-term memory