Brain Games: Exploring the Psychology of the Mind

In this exhibit, you will explore several interactive demonstrations that teach you how the brain works, as well as how psychologists study human thought and behavior. Faculty members and students from the Department of Psychology will be present to explain each demonstration for visitors. In one activity, you will be able to try on a device on your head (similar to a sweatband for exercise) that measures brain wave activity. The device is connected to an app that shows the wave patterns, and so visitors will be able to see their own brain activity. In another activity, you will be able to participate in a variety of cognitive tasks to demonstrate the limitations of the brain's cognitive processes. For instance, you can participate in the Stroop task, which demonstrates how the brain automates our thinking. In this activity, you see the names of colors like red or blue written in opposing colors (such as the word "red" written in blue ink). You are asked to name the color of the ink for each word as quickly as you can without making any mistakes. You can also participate in a few memory tasks to demonstrate the capacity of your short-term memory as well as how memory can be altered by external factors. In another activity, guests will be able to learn whether they are a "supertaster" (which means their brain may process taste more strongly than the rest of the population) by licking a test strip to see if they can taste the substance PTC (that only supertasters can taste!). Another activity called "Brain Game" will test visitors' knowledge of psychology and the brain. Guests will be given questions about psychology and/or the brain, and they have to guess the answer. All guests who attempt the game win a prize! Prizes will include things like lollipops or brain-related stickers. Finally, we will have several other smaller activities available to engage our guests. These include things like: viewing optical illusions and learning how the brain interprets these images, taking personality tests and learning how psychologists define personality traits and what parts of the brain influence personality, and coloring pictures of the brain. In addition to the activities we have planned, the psychology department will have posters of recent research conducted by faculty and students for visitors to view. Faculty and undergraduate students from the Department of Psychology will be present to answer any questions from visitors regarding the field of psychology and our Psychology academic programs here at RIT.