Andrade

Question 1

What is the background of the study?

Answer 1

• not known whether doodling hinders or improves performance.
• predicted that doodling would improve performance by aiding concentration.
• If aids concentration, implications for psychological research + practical applications.

Question 2

What is the aim of the study?

Answer 2

To test the view that doodling aids concentration.

Question 3

What is the IV?

Answer 3

Whether pps doodling whilst monitoring a 2.5min voice recording about a party for names of party attendees or not doodling.

Question 4

What is the DV?

Answer 4

Monitoring performance

Recall performance for monitored information

Recall performance for incidental information

Question 5

What is the experimental design?

Answer 5

Independent group

Question 6

What kind of experiment is it?

Answer 6

Laboratory experiment

Question 7

How does Andrade define doodling?

Answer 7

The sketching of patterns and figures that are unrelated to a primary task

Question 8

What might doodling do so we can stay focused?

Answer 8

Reduce daydreaming and maintaining arousal by giving you something physical to do while you think.

Question 9

What was Andrade’s sample?

Answer 9

Opportunity sample, 40 members of research council, aged 18-55, 35 females and 5 males

Question 10

What were the ps in the doodling condition given?

Answer 10

A4 sheet with alternating rows of squares and circles with a wide margin for recording the monitored information and a pencil

Question 11

What were the ps in the control group given?

Answer 11

A4 lined paper and a pencil

Question 12

What were PPs told before the audio tape started?

Answer 12

To listen for names of people going to the party and write them down. They were told that they didn’t have to remember any of it.

Question 13

What were false alarms?

Answer 13

Either names that were on the tape but were not party-goers, or other names not mentioned on the tape.

Question 14

What was the monitoring task?

Answer 14

Ps listened to a dull telephone conversation about a party for names of people going to the party.

Question 15

What was the recall task?

Answer 15

When pps were unexpectedly asked to recall the names of people going to the party, and the places mentioned in the conversation.

Question 16

Why did the experimenter apologise after collecting in the monitoring task response sheets?

Answer 16

Because the pps were going to be tested on their recall, which they had not been informed about.

Question 17

In the doodling group, what was the mean monitoring performance and recall score?

Answer 17

7.7 - 7.5

Question 18

In the control (non-doodling) group, what was the mean monitoring performance score?

Answer 18

6.9-5.8

Question 19

What is the conclusion?

Answer 19

• doodling aids concentration
• Monitoring performance had a greater effect on doodlers than non-doodlers, maybe because

Doodling makes people notice the names more
Doodling helps people to process deeply
However it was not know the improvement in recall is due to noticing or processing

• Doodling has a positive effect on concentration because it stops daydreaming.

Question 20

What are the controls?

Answer 20

Order effects
Demand characteristics
Levels of PP arousal
Levels of PP self consciousness

Question 21

How is order effect controlled?

Answer 21

counterbalancing the names/places recall tasks

Question 22

How is demand characteristics controlled?

Answer 22

asking pps if they suspected a memory task, and then excluding the data for any pps who were suspicious.

Question 23

How is level of arousal controlled?

Answer 23

monotone voice recording

Question 24

How is self consciousness controlled?

Answer 24

use of standardised doodling sheet.

Question 25

How is this study standardised?

Answer 25

Standardised instructions: all read the same script when given the sheets of paper for monitoring task.

All pps heard the same conversation at same speed and same volume

All pps tested in a quiet, visually dull room.

Each doodling pp given the same doodling sheet with squares/circles to shade.

Question 26

What individual differences did Andrade find in the pps’ doodling behaviour?

Answer 26

The amount of shapes the individuals shaded differed significantly from 3 - 110

Question 27

Why was Andrade’s sample biased?

Answer 27

All pps came from the sample research council, so ay all be well practised in psychological tests compared to other members of the public. There was also a gender bias - there were 7x more females than males in the sample

Question 28

What ethical issues were raised by the study?

Answer 28

Ps were unable to give their full informed consent as they were given an unexpected recall test on the names and places, potentially making them distressed.

Question 29

How did Andrade deal with ethical issues raised by the study?

Answer 29

Pps were debriefed and apologised to for the unexpected recall test.

Question 30

Evaluate the study in terms of 2 strengths

Answer 30

• well controlled, controlled ways of doodling, high internal validity
• standardised instruction, 2.5 mins long, monotone voice

Question 31

Evaluate the study in terms of 2 weaknesses

Answer 31

• lacked ecological validity, standardised doodling sheet, setting not realistic, does not represent real life behaviour
• independent group design, individual differences, IQ might affect results, low internal validity

Question 32

How Andrade recruited her sample? Why recruit them in this way?

Answer 32

• opportunity sample
• recruited them after they just finished an unrelated experiment
• she did this in order to enhance boredom of the task, by testing people who were already thinking about going home.

Question 33

what was the pps told about the recording?

Answer 33

• I am going to play you a tape
• I want you to pretend the speaker is a friend who telephoned you to invite you to a party
• the tape is rather dull but it’s okay
• I don’t want you to remember any of it
• just write down names of people who will attend the party
• ignore names of those who can’t come

Question 34

Explain TWO methodological features may have contributed to the beneficial effect of doodling by making the primary task seem particularly boring

Answer 34

1. Pps were recruited after they finished another experiment
   - more prone to boredom as already thinking about going home
   - they were told tape would be dull, to discourage them from searching for something interesting
2. Told ‘just something to relieve boredom’
   - encourage to do it in a fairly naturalistic, automatic fashion
   - the instructions contained no suggestion that it would improve cognitive performance

Question 35

why is reducing daydreaming important?

Answer 35

• it is linked with generally high arousal levels seen during boredom

Question 36

why monitoring task encouraged day dreaming?

Answer 36

• demand for the basic task was low

- little incentive to ‘catch’ themselves daydreaming and return their attention to the task.

Question 37

Give two examples for names, and two examples for places mentioned

Answer 37

Names:

• Craig
• William

Places:

• London
• Edinburgh

Question 38

How many names and places were party goers? How many were not party goers

Answer 38

• 8 names, 8 places, 3 names not attending, 1 cat

Question 39

what is divided attention?

Answer 39

the ability to split mental effort between two or more simultaneous tasks

the primary task is the main task, the additional task is called the concurrent task because it is happening at the same time

Question 40

what is working memory model?

Answer 40

two different types of current or ‘working’ memory can be used at the same time, one is vis spatial and the other auditory

Question 41

what is daydreaming?

Answer 41

a mildly altered state of consciousness in which we experience a sense of being lost in our thoughts, and detachment from our environment