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PSY 53 · Learning game

The Memory Lab

A browser game with six bite-sized experiments that let players catch their own memory in the act, then explain the psychology behind what just happened.

Role
Solo researcher, designer & builder
Context
Final project for PSY 53, Tufts
Timeline
Jan – May 2026
Format
Interactive browser game, 6 experiments
Tools
Figma + Figma Make (prototype); HTML, CSS, JavaScript; GitHub Pages
Status
Live and playable
Memory Lab results screen: "Experiment Complete!" with scores of 8/12 recalled, 3/3 primacy, 3/3 recency, a color-coded memory curve, and a Serial Position Effect explanation

The problem

Memory is the part of psychology I find most fascinating: how much we forget, how confidently we misremember, and how little of it we notice. The Memory Lab started as my final project for PSY 53 and became one of my passion projects.

Memory research is full of effects that are easy to define and hard to believe: you remember the start and end of a list better than the middle, and a false statement starts to feel true just because you’ve seen it before.

Reading about an effect is not the same as noticing it in yourself. I wanted to build something where the player’s own results are the lesson.

Users & research

The learner: a student meeting these concepts for the first time, with a few minutes to spare and no patience for a lecture.

Key insight

People trust their own data. Show them their memory curve first, and the explanation lands as an “oh, that’s why.”

I had 25 people play it, which let me see whether the “catch yourself” moment actually happened outside my own head.

Process

I prototyped the whole experience in Figma before writing any code. Planning up front kept the scope realistic for one semester:

  • A screen-by-screen build guide and a flowchart of how players move through the lab.
  • A color palette and typography system, so every experiment feels like part of one product.
  • A component plan: reusable pieces (cards, progress bars, results screens) instead of six one-off designs.

I picked six classic memory effects and grouped them into three “folders,” so the lab feels explorable rather than like a test:

  • Memory Curve

    Serial position effect: why you remember the first and last words best.

  • Recall vs. Recognition

    Why picking the right answer is easier than producing it.

  • Depth Dive

    Levels of processing: thinking about meaning makes words stick.

  • Cue Match

    Encoding specificity: the cue has to match how the memory was stored.

  • Priming Lab

    Semantic priming: hidden words speed up your brain without you noticing.

  • Illusion of Truth

    Familiarity makes false statements feel true.

Decision: play first, explain second

Every experiment runs the same loop: play a short task, see your own results, then get a reveal that names the effect and explains why it happened.

Decision: bite-sized and replayable

Each experiment takes a couple of minutes and stands on its own, with a “Try Another” button at the end, so players can stop anytime or keep going.

What I built

Play the Memory Lab

  1. Memory Lab welcome screen: "A Working Memory Project," the title Memory Lab, a one-line description of six interactive experiments, and an Open the Lab button

    Step 1 of 4

    A warm welcome

    One sentence and one button. The promise is clear: six experiments, each revealing something happening in your own brain.

  2. The lab screen: three folders (Recall & Recognition, Context & Encoding, Implicit Memory), with the first folder open showing Memory Curve and Recall vs. Recognition as playing cards

    Step 2 of 4

    Pick an experiment

    Experiments live in folders and pop out as playing cards on hover, which makes choosing feel like play instead of a menu.

  3. Memory Curve experiment in progress: the word TROPHY in large type, "Word 3 of 12," and a progress bar

    Step 3 of 4

    Play the task

    One word at a time, with a progress bar and clear instructions. Nothing on screen competes with the task.

  4. Results screen with scores, a color-coded memory curve showing which words were remembered, and a Serial Position Effect explanation

    Step 4 of 4

    See your results, then the reveal

    Your own memory curve comes first, color-coded by beginning, middle, and end. Only then does the reveal name the effect and explain it.

The product thinking underneath

  • Learn by doing: the experiment is the lesson, not decoration on top of it.
  • Bite-sized: one concept per experiment, a few minutes each.
  • Tight feedback loop: play → your results → reveal, every time.
  • Shipped: a live, playable game anyone can open in a browser.

Outcome & impact

people played it
25
final project grade
A+
experiments across 3 areas of memory
6
shipped on GitHub Pages
Live

What players said

The most common reaction was surprise: players were caught off guard by how their own memory was tricking them, which is exactly the moment the game was designed to create.