Carry out this experiment to see if there is any pattern between music and short-term memory. First, compile a memory test, such as a paragraph of roughly 40 words that contains several details, including dates, times, colors and locations, for example. Split subjects into four evenly-sized groups with an even division of male and female respondents. Expose group one to two minutes of silence before getting them to complete the memory test. Groups two, three and four should be exposed to two minutes of a different music style, such as rock, classical or jazz, before completing the memory test. Compare results for each group and consider how the music impacted upon the respondents' memory test scores.
One example of an experiment that focuses on gender and cognition studies the human perception of optical illusions. Print a selection of at least four different optical illusions, which should all be illusions that can be perceived in two main ways, such as the young / old woman image. Divide your sample into male and female and allow each respondent to observe each illusion for 20 seconds before saying what they initially see. Record results for each group, compare the image seen by each participant and consider how gender affects the way humans view optical illusions.
Complete this project by compiling a sample of 20 respondents who you can access on two occasions two weeks apart. Sit your respondents down at your house or in a classroom and show the group a television program or film of your choice. About 10 minutes into the program, get a volunteer who is not well known to the respondents to hand out popcorn and ask a couple of questions. Once the TV show or film has finished, get all respondents to fill in a questionnaire, which will contain questions about the volunteer that handed out the popcorn, including how old he was, what color shirt he was wearing, whether he was wearing glasses and what questions did he ask. Collect in the responses and, after two weeks, get participants to fill in the same questionnaire once more. Compare the accuracy of both sets of results and consider the usefulness of eyewitness testimony in criminal courts.
Investigate how color affects human taste and appetite during this cognitive science experiment. Prepare a number of red, green and blue sponge cakes using food coloring before carrying out a simple experiment. Present one of each color sponge cake to your participants and see which order each participant eats them in. For example, do a significant number of participants eat the blue sponge cake first? Progress your experiment by asking participants what each cake smells like and what flavor it is. Think about how the color of the cakes affected the order in which they were chosen and the flavor they were said to represent by the participants. Scienceprojectideas.co.uk, for example, details that blue colored foods are often the least popular as humans associate the color with foods that have gone bad and molded.