The Bicycle Test

An investigation into memory and understanding

Dr Becky Lawson

Cognitive Psychologist,

Liverpool University

copyright Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin info@vespa.academy

Lawson's interested in our ability to explain things we think we understand.

Example: bicycles. 90% people know how to ride one, 50% people own one, 100% people see them regularly.

So.... how do they work? 

Lawson tests participants’ understanding by asking them to draw a bike.

copyright Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin info@vespa.academy

Outline given:

copyright Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin info@vespa.academy

copyright Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin info@vespa.academy

copyright Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin info@vespa.academy

“What is striking about the present results is that so many people have virtually no knowledge of how bicycles function.”

​

The Science of Cycology: Failures to Understand how Everyday Objects Work, Dr Rebecca Lawson, University of Liverpool

Post-test comments:

• “I think context matters, I know a bike when I see it but it’s different to recall when sat in a room.”
• “Thinking about it in more detail, I realised I had no idea about its structure.”
• “I can’t believe I found it so difficult to remember what a bike frame looks like!”
• “I thought I knew more about the workings than I actually did.”
• “It’s hard to picture a bicycle when you have to.”
• “I did not think long enough about the front wheel turning.”
• “I never knew how little I knew about things until I had to draw them.”
• “I think I know less than I thought.”

copyright Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin info@vespa.academy

Often we discover how much we know about something when we try to explain it to other people.

copyright Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin info@vespa.academy

Challenge:

Design a revision session in which you explain/demonstrate in detail a section of your course… without looking at your notes.

copyright Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin info@vespa.academy