1. Last updated 12 September 2012
Stage 2 Psychology
Research Program
Chunking and Learning
Mental Scanning in Nursery Rhymes
This presentation
Last updated 12 September 2012

2. This experiment contains 27 trials.
At the start of each trial, you will see a red background showing the trial number and the title of a nursery rhyme.
When you are ready, left-click the mouse to start.

3. Trial Number Old MacDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

4. It will appear for one second.
Then, you will see an orange background which shows one word from that nursery rhyme.
It will appear for one second.
Click when ready to move on

5. on

6. After one second you will see a green background with another word from the same song.
As soon as the green background appears the timekeeper starts timing.

7. cow

8. So after the title of the song is clicked you will have a sequence as follows:

9. on

10. cow

11. As soon as you see the green background, start singing the song
from the word on the orange background to the word on the green background.

12. If you do not know the nursery rhyme say so.
When you finish, call out STOP or give a clear hand signal, so that the time-keeper can stop the stopwatch.
If you do not know the nursery rhyme say so.

13. NOTE FOR THE TIME-KEEPER
Record the time against the trial number for that nursery rhyme on the singer’s Reaction Time Sheet. Record a cross if the singer did not know the nursery rhyme.
NOTE FOR THE SINGER
Do not left-click the mouse to move to the next trial until the time-keeper has recorded your time and tells you to continue.
PLEASE LEFT-CLICK THE MOUSE FOR A PRACTICE

14. Practice Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

15. on

16. cow

17. The correct lyrics were: on his farm he had a cow
The time-keeper should have started the stop-watch when the word cow appeared on a green background.
Did the singer call out STOP after singing the word cow?
Did the timekeeper stop timing when the singer called out STOP ?
If you did everything right, you are ready to start.
If you’re not sure, check with your teacher.
Start Trial 1 when you are ready.

18. Trial 1 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star [left-click the mouse to START]

19. How

20. wonder

21. Trial 2 Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

22. Here

23. there

24. Trial 3 Pop! Goes The Weasel [left-click the mouse to START]

25. ‘Round

26. ‘cobbler’s

27. Trial 4 Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

28. every-

29. Old

30. Trial 5 Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

31. Donald

32. farm

33. Trial 6 Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

34. Old

35. farm

36. Trial 7 Pop! Goes The Weasel [left-click the mouse to START]

37. spool

38. needle

39. Trial 8 Pop! Goes The Weasel [left-click the mouse to START]

40. cobbler’s

41. monkey

42. Trial 9 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star [left-click the mouse to START]

43. Like

44. sky

45. Trial 10 Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

46. Donald

47. “E-”

48. Trial 11 Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

49. every-

50. Donald

51. Trial 12 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star [left-click the mouse to START]

52. world

53. diamond

54. Trial 13 Pop! Goes The Weasel [left-click the mouse to START]

55. ‘Round

56. weasel

57. Trial 14 Pop! Goes The Weasel [left-click the mouse to START]

58. spool

59. That’s

60. Trial 15 Pop! Goes The Weasel [left-click the mouse to START]

61. ‘Round

62. monkey

63. Trial 16 Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

64. had

65. farm

66. Trial 17 Pop! Goes The Weasel [left-click the mouse to START]

67. monkey

68. monkey

69. Trial 18 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star [left-click the mouse to START]

70. wonder

71. Up

72. Trial 19 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star [left-click the mouse to START]

73. diamond

74. sky

75. Trial 20 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star [left-click the mouse to START]

76. world

77. Like

78. Trial 21 Pop! Goes The Weasel [left-click the mouse to START]

79. Pop!

80. spool

81. Trial 22 Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

82. Old

83. had

84. Trial 23 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star [left-click the mouse to START]

85. wonder

86. what

87. Trial 24 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star [left-click the mouse to START]

88. what

89. are

90. Trial 25 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star [left-click the mouse to START]

91. Up

92. world

93. Trial 26 Pop! Goes The Weasel [left-click the mouse to START]

94. Pop!

95. weasel

96. Trial 27 Old McDonald Had A Farm [left-click the mouse to START]

97. Donald

98. had

99. You have finished the experiment.
Make sure that your time-keeper has recorded times in all the numbered boxes. All 27 boxes should be filled in.
Now it’s time to swap roles. If you sang before, it’s your turn to be the time-keeper.
If you’ve both been time-keepers, then you have finished the experiment.
Thank you!