"You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra

Could you draw the ubiquitous Apple computer logo from memory? Likely not, as it turns out.

In a new study published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, UCLA psychologists identified that virtually none of their subjects could draw the logo appropriately from memory. Out of 85 UCLA undergraduate students, only a single appropriately reproduced the Apple logo when asked to draw it on a blank sheet of paper. Fewer than half the students appropriately identified the actual logo when they have been shown it among a number of equivalent logos with slightly altered capabilities.

Among the participants had been 52 Apple users, 10 Pc customers and 23 students who utilised each Apple and Pc products—but the findings did not differ between Apple and Computer customers.

How can this be, provided that logos are created to be straightforward, memorable and visually distinctive, and Apple's logo is among the world's most recognizable?

"Individuals had difficulty picking out the correct logo even when it was right in front of them," mentioned Alan Castel, an associate professor of psychology at UCLA and senior author of the study, who showed in 2012 that most folks did not know the place of a vibrant red fire extinguisher near their office, even although they had walked by it hundreds or thousands of times.

An explanation could be that our brains have discovered it is not significant to try to remember certain details. An efficient memory technique does not need to shop the particulars of a corporate logo, except probably to distinguish counterfeit merchandise, the researchers concluded.

Earlier research have shown that most individuals have a poor memory for other products they encounter everyday or nearly daily, such as laptop keyboards (even skilled typists have difficulty describing a normal keyboard), pennies and road signs.

In the new study, participants have been asked how properly they would be in a position to draw the Apple logo just before getting asked to draw it.

"There was a striking discrepancy amongst participants' self-confidence prior to drawing the logo and how well they performed on the process," Castel mentioned. "People's memory, even for incredibly typical objects, is significantly poorer than they believe it to be."

Can you recognize the appropriate logo? See how you do.

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