Classic Study Flashcards
What is the Classic Study of Cognitive psychology?
Baddeleys Classic Study (1966)
Experiment 3
What was the aim of Baddeleys Classic Study?
To investigate how short term memory and long term memory is encoded.
What was the sample of Baddeleys Classic study?
72 male and female students from the University of Cambridge
How were the groups in Baddeleys Classic Study divided?
Participants were split into 4 groups, with each group assigned a list of words which were wither acoustically similar/ dissimilar or semantically similar/ dissimilar.
Group A had 15 participants memorising the order of acoustically similar words
Group B had 20 participants memorising the order of acoustically dissimilar words
Group C had 16 participants memorising the order of semantically similar words
Group D had 21 participants memorising the order of semantically dissimilar words
Participants who were assigned the dissimilar words were known as the control group.
What was the procedure of Baddeleys Classic Study?
Participants were shown a list of words on a projector, each word was visible for 3 seconds.
The participants were then given up to 40 seconds to recall the order of the list of words
This was then repeated for 4 trials with participants first being shown the projector slideshow and then recalling the order of the words.
However, after the 4th trial participants were given a 15 minute interference test therefore stopping them from rehearsing the information.
Finally, a fifth unexpected trial was undertaken after the interference task which the participants were unaware of. Baddeley had done this on purpose so participants had to rely on their along term memory as they were no longer shown the slideshow list of words.
Explain the results of Baddeleys Classic study (4 marks)
Firstly, Baddeley found that short-term memory was encoded acoustically. Baddeley concluded this because from trials 1-3 participants were able to recall the acoustically dissimilar words more accurately. He suggested this was because Short-term memory found it difficult to distinguish the order of acoustically similar words and therefore the retrieval of these words became confused because they sounded the same.
Secondly, Baddeley concluded that long-term memory was encoded semantically. He suggested this because during the fifth trial (after the 15 minute interference takes) the semantically dissimilar words were recalled more accurately. This was because the Long-term memory found it difficult to distinguish the order of semantically similar words and therefore the retrieval of these words became confused because the words meant the same.
Describe the procedure of Baddeleys Classic Study (4 marks)
Baddeley aimed to investigate whether short term and long term memory was encoded either semantically or acoustically. Baddeley sample consisted of 72 male and female students from the University of Cambridge who were divided into 4 groups and assigned a list of words either semantically similar/ dissimilar or acoustically similar/ dissimilar.
The groups were asked to remember and recall the order of their list of words and were given 40 seconds in order to do this after they were shown the words on a projector screen every 3 seconds. This was then repeated 4 times in order to test their short-term memory as they were shown the list again between each of the trials. However, after completing a 15 minute interference task at the end of the study the students were unexpectedly asked to participate in a fifth trial where they had to recall the order of their words, but this time without being shown the projector screen so Baddeleys could test their long-term memory.
Evaluate Baddeleys Classic Study (8 marks)
Generalisability- Weakness
Small sample of 72 male and female students from Cambridge University
Therefore the sample is not representative of the population as memory could be processed differently in different people.
Reliability- Strength - the results can be considered reliable
It was a standardised procedure, the only independent variable was the change in the list of words. This means that it was the only variable impacting their memory. (semantically similar/dissimilar or acoustically similar / dissimilar)
Application- Strength
Baddeley results suggested that STM was encoded acoustically and LTM was encoded semantically. Therefore, this is useful as it provides a way for students to revise effectively by adding meaning to the information.
Validity- Weakness
Lacks ecological validity because the experiment was set in a laboratory experiment (artificial)
Additionally, the task used was an artificial task and unrealistic to real life situation, so memory could be processed differently in a natural environment.
Ethics- Strength
The participants were volunteers so they had fully informed consent
The word list task has no risk of harm so participants were protected
