baddeley classic study

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

to see the influence of acoustic and semantic word similarity on learning and recall in STM and LTM (to see how LTM encodes info)

Question 2

method

Answer 2

• Lab experiment
• Independent measures design

Question 3

describe classic study (6 marker)

Answer 3

• he aimed to see the influence of acoustic and semantic word similarity on learning and recall in STM and LTM (to see how LTM encodes info)
• used an independent measures design and the study took place in a lab
• he sampled 72 men and women, who were mainly students from APRU subject panel, Cambridge Uni in UK and separated them into 4 groups each with approximately 20 ppts.
• There were 4 word lists, 1 for each group (acoustically similar/dissimilar or semantically similar/dissimilar)
• The ppts had to recall the words in the correct order out of 10.
• each word was shown on a slide for 3 seconds via a projector, the slide change over rate was 2 secs
• ppts had 1 minute to recall
• 15 minute interference task, consisting of a self paced digit copying task, they had 8 secs to copy out each sequence, done 4 times
• then given a test on the correct order of the world list
• then ppts asked to recall order whilst words were stuck on walls around room
• he concluded STM encoded acoustically, LTM semantically

Question 4

results

Answer 4

• the control list had significantly better recall of the order of the word lists out of 10 than the semantically similar list
• By trial 3 and 4, the words were being transferred to the LTM so recall got better

Question 5

conclusions

Answer 5

• LTM encoded information semantically
• STM encoded information acoustically

Question 6

give 2 strengths of Baddeley’s study. (AO1 + AO2)

Answer 6

One strength of Baddeley’s study is that it has a high validity. For example, he samped 72 men and women, who were mainly students, from APRU subject panel, Cambridge Uni in the UK to take part in recalling 4 word lists consisting of 10 high frequency words each in the correct order (semantically and acoustically similar and dissmilar word lists). Therefore, any anomalies with high or low percentages of memory recall were averaged out and did not skew the data of if LTM encoded semantically.

Another strength is that it has a high application to society, for example he found that in experiment 3 forgetting the semantically similar words order was 85% but forgetting semantically dissimilar word order was 60%. Therefore, the results can be used to improve revision. Students shouldn’t revise 2 similar topics and teachers should ensure the students understand the learning and don’t just do rote learning.

Question 7

give 2 weaknesses of Baddeley’s study.

Answer 7

One weakness of Baddeley’s study is that it lacks ecological validity. For example, the recall of the 10 high frequency words in the correct order that were either semantically or acoustically similar or dissimilar took place in a laboratory setting. Words were read out or shown to ppts with 1 word being shown every 3 secs on a projector slide. Therefore, this study is highly artifical and controlled so the results of how LTM encodes are not representative of real life memory recall. The ppts in the study may have been actively trying to recall the words throughout the whole experiment.

The study also lacks mundane realism For example, the task was to recall 10 high frequency words in the correct order whilst being provided the word lists to assess memory recall. Therefore, the results and task are not representative of how we use our memory in real life as we don’t learn word lists. Information is usually more complex as people usually remember conversations and telephone numbers.

Question 8

procedure

Answer 8

• 4 groups were each presented with a word lists with 10 high frequency words (acoustically similar/dissimilar or semantically similar/dissimilar) on a slide via a projecter for 3 secs.
• the slide change over rate was 2 seconds
• ppts were given 1 minute to recall the word lists’ correct order
• An interference task took place for 15 minutes, which was a self paced digit copying task, where they were given 8 seconds to write out each sequence and then were given a recall test to write the word list in the correct order. This was done 4 times.
• After this, ppts were asked to recall the order of words again, this time with the words stuck to the walls.