Chimp Test

In 2007, researchers at Kyoto University trained chimpanzees to touch numerals on a screen in order. In one version, the moment the chimp touched the first numeral, all the others turned into plain white squares, so the rest had to be done from memory [1]. In a harder version, five numerals were shown for only a fraction of a second before turning blank. A young chimpanzee named Ayumu got most of these right, and none of the humans tested came close [1] [2].

The story has a second part. Another team pointed out that Ayumu had had a lot of practice and the humans had none. When two people practiced the same task, their accuracy matched his [2]. So the task shows how much practice matters as much as anything about chimps.

It measures short-term memory for where things are and in what order: you take in the positions of several numbers at once, then recall them without seeing them. Unlike the study, there is no time limit before your first tap, and the number of squares keeps growing as long as you get rounds right.

• The first round has 4 numbers. Look as long as you like, then tap 1.
• The other numbers turn into blank squares. Tap them in order: 2, 3, 4 and so on.
• A clean round adds one number. A wrong tap uses up a try, and the round starts again with new spots. 3 wrong taps end the test.
• Your score is the most numbers you got right in one round.

Because practice made such a difference in the research [2], expect your score to climb over your first runs. That climb is mostly learning the task. Once it levels off, your runs say more about your memory on the day. For a test of a sequence you see only one step at a time, try the sequence memory test.