Conduct this project to investigate if there are any patterns between gender and the ability to remember. Make up 20 flashcards: 10 with different nouns on them, such as "stapler," "cat" and "umbrella"; and 10 with different numbers on them, such as 12, 248 and 1001. Pick a sample with an equal number of boys and girls from your class before starting the memory experiment. One participant at a time, hold up each flashcard one-by-one before chatting to your classmate for a period of two minutes. After this time, ask her to write down as many of the flashcard words and numbers she remembers. Compare the performance of males and females at completing this task, which may indicate that girls are better at remembering than boys, for example.
Perform this seventh grade-level experiment to see how the color of a food affects its desirability. Gather a random sample from your class before subjecting each individual participant to a very simple study involving three different colored sponge cakes. Place three same-size, different colored sponge cakes, such as red, green and blue, on a plate next to one another and ask the respondent to eat one of the cakes. Note which cake your respondent chooses to eat before repeating the experiment with three cakes for the next participant. Once you have tested all of your classmates, look at which colors were least and most popular and think about the effect color had on cake popularity.
Carry out a project looking into the reliability of eye witness testimony for your seventh grade science project. Sit down a sample of approximately 20 participants to watch a 10-minute video clip of your choosing, such as a popular cartoon or scenes from a television program. Before showing your program, inform your participants they are taking part in a memory test. Ask a helper to wear a distinctive outfit and offer bowls of popcorn around to your guests before watching the program. Once the program has finished, give each participant a question sheet asking them 10 things about the helper who handed out the popcorn, including asking the person's gender, what color shirt he was wearing and what time he offered popcorn around, for example. Collect question sheets and assess how accurate eye witness testimony is based on the responses.
Gather a sample of at least 20 participants, but preferably 40, to carry out this project which investigates whether your participants can detect fake smiles from genuine ones. Sit each of your participants down at a computer in an isolated environment, so she is not influenced by other respondents, before completing an online test which displays pictures of fake and authentic smiles (see Resources). Print out the results page that is automatically generated at the end of the test before comparing the results for your sample, including looking at patterns. Determine whether boys are better at discerning fake and real smiles than girls, for example.