In the following experiment you will read sentences that you are supposed to recall later. The experiment consists of pairs of sentences. You will read two sentences in a row. After that, you will see a prompt (either of the first or the second sentence) and you are asked to complete the sentence as it was presented to you. Then the next prompt will be displayed (for the remaining sentence from the pair) and you have to complete the corresponding sentence. You are not allowed to take notes. Try repeating the sentences aloud to yourself in order to remember them successfully.
So, for example, you might read:
Remember: The boy ate an apple.
This sentence will disappear after a 6 seconds (you will see a counter below the sentence, counting from 10 to 4). After that you will have 4 more seconds to repeat the sentence to yourself in order to remember it well.
Remember: The boy ate an apple.
At any point during the entire 10 seconds of the remember trial you can click the NEXT button or press ENTER to advance. Then the second sentence will show up. For example:
Remember: A policeman from New York recognized the victim of Saturday's attack.
This sentence, too, will disappear after a few seconds. Again, you will have some time to repeat the sentence to yourself or you can advance by clicking the NEXT button or pressing ENTER at any time. Now you will see the first prompt, followed by a text field. For example, you might see the following (although you could also be asked to recall the first sentence first):
Recall: A policeman
Please enter the continuation that you remember (e.g. from New York recognized the victim of Saturday's attack). This part of the experiment is not timed. Once you're ready to continue, press ENTER. You will see the next prompt:
Recall: The boy
Again, please enter the continuation. Press ENTER when you're ready for the next pair of sentences to remember. You might not be able to remember all sentences verbatim. In those cases, just try to write down whatever you remember.
At the top of the screen you will see a progress bar, indicating how many sentence pairs are still left before you're done. There are 48 pairs and it should take 20-30 minutes to complete. Thank you for your participation in this experiment. Your participation will help us to understand how memory processes affect language understanding.
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agree that the data you provide by participating can be used in
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Once you press the button below, these instructions
will disappear, so make sure you understand them fully before you start.
Remember: The magician revealed his secret to the cheering crowd.
Remember: The defendant rejected all the charges pressed against him.
Remember: The employees dreaded that their boss was working on a reorganization.
Remember: The boys dared their cousins to climb the tree.
Remember: The board intended to reject her story about Paris.
Remember: The cook threatened that the next meal would be entirely vegetarian.
Remember: The columnists felt that the editor was taking no action.
Remember: The man showed a photo to the class.
Remember: One lawyer marveled that the judge postponed the trial unfairly.
Remember: Everyone donated worn clothing to the charity.
Remember: One student asserted that the professor only lectured for 50 minutes.
Remember: The whole family planned to go to the beach together.
Remember: The entrepreneur sold textbooks at the beginning of the semester.
Remember: The jock described the date for his curious friends.
Remember: The professor is researching the effects of exercise on health.
Remember: The theologian discussed the problem of evil.
Remember: The experimenter concealed the object beneath a barrier.
Remember: The player pointed out that gamblers placed a lot of money on the match.
Remember: Everyone hoped that the prince would live happily ever after.
Remember: The clowns tried to keep the children at the party happy.
Remember: The leader seemed to be a very good speaker.
Remember: Several graduate students disputed that the researcher had described the results correctly.
Remember: The attendant discerned that all passengers had fastened their seatbelts.
Remember: The donor contributed a large sum to the university.
Remember: The advisor attacked the internet as a useful source of information.
Remember: The committee will propose major changes to the current budget.
Remember: This lab investigated the properties of sugar in water.
Remember: The smoke alarm prevented a dangerous fire from surprising the inhabitants of a building.
Remember: The winner answered that the host had put 250 jelly beans into the jar.
Remember: The driver asked the passengers to stop swearing.
Remember: The publisher sent several copies of the book to hospitals.
Remember: The teacher suggested that some people really do believe in ghosts.
Remember: The supervisor didn't value that the kittens needed to stay at the animal shelter.
Remember: The banker permitted the borrower to make late payments.
Remember: One girl took a piece of candy from the box.
Remember: The buyer alleged that the seller was lying about the roof.
Remember: The weatherman studies the new model to help him with his forecast.
Remember: The president questioned the validity of an important document.
Remember: A guest joked that the hotel-keeper probably charged for bedbugs.
Remember: The assistant volunteered to make multiple copies of the document.
Remember: Most customers believed that the sales clerk was truthful.
Remember: The restaurant procured its vegetables from local farmers.
Remember: My family discussed the tuition increase over dinner.
Remember: This billboard is advertising a popular insurance company.
Remember: The teen admired the stunt double because he took so many risks.
Remember: My coworker uses the business phone to call home.
Remember: A thief grabbed the diamonds from the store.
Remember: The tour guide disclosed to the freshmen that the librarians could order books from other universities.
Remember: The parent disliked the comedian because his humor was very crude.
Remember: The patron borrowed over 1000 different books from the library.
Remember: One guitarist dreaded that the audience might hate his solo.
Remember: The president challenged the fundraisers to double the endowment.
Remember: Two patrolmen threatened that the dogs would attack all trespassers.
Remember: Most of the teenagers wanted to go to the mall.
Remember: The college graduate taught his own class.
Remember: The toddler plays with the phone cord.
Remember: The chef displayed the secret ingredient to the audience.
Remember: Union leaders felt that the workers did not receive appropriate benefits.
Remember: The suspect marveled that the victim wasn't even armed.
Remember: The bride gave a piece of cake to every guest.
Remember: The Advanced Placement class prepared the student well for his history elective.
Remember: The mentor supports the girl's decision to switch majors.
Remember: The directors prepared to announce the name of the new CEO.
Remember: Most voters asserted that the wealthy had the biggest tax breaks.
Remember: The bank manager pointed out that the owner of the house had $50,000 in his account.
Remember: The girl's mother hid the toys under the couch.
Remember: The designer neglected to consider the issue of fabric.
Remember: The pilot hoped that a new cabin crew would be available in Chicago.
Remember: The victim disputed that an ER doctor had to conduct a full physical.
Remember: The potter appeared to be highly skilled.
Remember: The marathoner runs through the finish line with a triumphant grin.
Remember: The secretary leaked vital information to the press.
Remember: An FBI agent discerned that the hostages were in serious danger.
Remember: The boy lent his bicycle to a neighbour.
Remember: The personnel officer instructed the applicant to fill out the form.
Remember: Most subjects answered that the parrot ate several kinds of seed.
Remember: The marine trained extensively for six weeks.
Remember: The bachelor will serve root beer floats at his party.
Remember: A receptionist suggested that the photographer had rescheduled the appointment.
Remember: The programmer allocated several pieces of equipment to the project.
Remember: The homeless man received a basket of food from the mission.
Remember: The judge loves the actress because she expresses herself so convincingly.
Remember: Some patients didn't value that the nurses were well-trained.
Remember: The builder allowed the caretaker to keep an eye on the house.
Remember: The reviewers alleged that the author often made inappropriate comments.
Remember: The gardener removed the rosebush from the soil.
Remember: The babysitter broke the window latch.
Remember: The widow hates salesmen because they won't stop calling.
Remember: The guests offered to take out the garbage after the party.
Remember: The zookeeper joked that the elephants recently attacked a visitor.
Remember: All the actors believed that the star was paid a ridiculous amount.
Remember: The school got new chairs from a cheap furniture shop.
Remember: The lecturer attends the international robotics conference.
Remember: The fisherman will fix his broken lure.
Remember: Each witness disclosed to the detective that the suspect had bright red hair.
Remember: An accountant obtained illegal cigars from a colleague.
Time: