Baddeley Flashcards
What is the aim of the Baddeley’s study?
To show that recall of acoustically similar words from short-term memory was poor. However STM was not affected by semantically similar words. He used the same procedures for LTM.
What type of experiment was Baddeley?
A lab study using independent groups design
How many ppt were there in Baddeley’s study?
75
Who were the ppt from in Baddeley’s study?
Young service men
How many ppts were excluded after a hearing test in Baddeley’s study?
3
How many words were in each list?
10
What were the 4 types of words in the lists?
- Accoustically similar
- Accoustically dissimilar
-Semantically similar - Semantically dissimilar
How was each word list presented?
Aloud on a tape, one word for three seconds
How many trials were there in Baddeley’s study?
4
How long did ppts have to write down the words in Baddeley’s study?
40 secs
How long were ppt doing an unrelated task of recalling digits for in Baddeley’s study?
20 minutes
What were the results of the Baddeley’s test?
Recall in the acoustically similar condition (list A) and the acoustically dissimilar control list (list B) were very similar, including at the retest.
In the LTM, acoustic similarity did not affect the recall of the word order.
Recall in the semantically similar list condition (list C) was much worse than in the semantically dissimliar words control conition (list D)
Semantic similarity affected recall in the LTM.
What were the conclusions of Baddeley’s study?
LTM is affected by semantic similarity but not acoustic similarity.
The results showed that LTM learning was affected by the meaning of the words more then if the words sounded alike.
This is evidence that LTM uses largely semantic encoding unlike short term memory that uses acoustic
Also shows that encoding in the STM is different from encoding in the LTM
What are 3 strength of Baddeley’s study?
The study was high in reliability as it was conducted in a controlled lab environment using a set of standardised instructions. (Same amount of words for each list and presented at the same rate of I word per 3 seconds) This means that the study can be regarded as replicable and if repeated there would be consistent results
There is high internal validity as cause and effect can be established between the IV and the DV due to the highly controlled nature of the experiment. (Following the four trials Baddeley used a 15 minute interference task and surprise retest to measure the recall of the short term memory.
Baddeley’s study has positive contributions and applications so society. Knowing how memory works can help people with dementia. STM can be improved by using sound and rehearsal and LTM can be improved by attaching meaning.
What are 3 weaknesses of Baddeley’s study?
The study has low ecological validity as it was conducted in a lab setting using artificial tasks, Its not the typical way in which we use memory in an every day context and we do not often learn lists of random monosyllabic word therefore the ability to generalise Baddeley’s findings to every day memory contexts such as learning in schools can be questioned.
There is opposing evidence for Baddeley (1966b) from Frost (1972) and Nelson and Rothbart (1972). Frost showed that LT recalled was related to visual as well as semantic encoding. Nelson and Rothbart found evidence of acoustic encoding LTM.
The study is reductionist in that it simplifies memory to the recall of a list of words. A most holistic approach to study memory might be less scientific but more valid and applicable to the use of memory in every day life
