Prior Research

The Wiz Quiz gives participants practice paying attention, a skill that is crucial for older adults. Research on Working Memory–the limited capacity mental faculty that we use to temporarily hold information we are attending to–has revealed that mental lapses in everyday living are often a consequence of inattention, rather than memory failure. An example is when we can’t find our car in a large parking lot, not because we can’t remember where we parked it, but rather because we failed to take note of its location when we parked it.

Chronically waning attention is a known consequence of natural aging, and, when our minds wander, critical information will be processed superficially, and its later retrieval will be compromised. If, however, we counter this tendency by intentionally mustering our attention at the time information is processed initially, it can lead to easier access to that information when we need it later.

Activity Design Features

The Wiz Quiz provides participants with repeated practice paying close attention to what they hear through three specific design features: (1) by using questions that require attending to multiple clues, (2) by requiring participants to answer within a 30-second time, and (3) by awarding bonus points to teams that write down the correct answer to the question even when it is not their turn.

Findings of The Wiz Quiz Evaluations

A substantial majority of respondents–75%–said that the rules and procedures of the activity aid attention while they are participating. An even greater majority–86%–indicated that they appreciate the complexity of the questions, which also magnifies the opportunities to practice paying attention.