Classic study - Baddeley 1996

Question 1

What is the aim ?

Answer 1

To see whether long term memory is encoded acoustically (based on sound) or semantically (based on meaning)

Question 2

What is the 3 IVs ?

Answer 2

1. Acoustically similar / dissimilar
2. Semantically similar / dissimilar
3. Performance before 15m ‘forgetting’ delay & performance after

Question 3

What is the DV ?

Answer 3

Score on recall test of 10 words in correct word order

Question 4

What is the test of remembering ?

Answer 4

Word order not the word themselves

Question 5

How many participants are there ?

Answer 5

72 men & women

Question 6

How were the participants found ?

Answer 6

Volunteer sampling

Question 7

Where are the participants from ?

Answer 7

Cambridge University Subject Panel, Applied Psychology Research Unit

Question 8

How many participants are in acoustically similar group ?

Answer 8

15

Question 9

How many participants are in acoustically dissimilar group ?

Answer 9

20

Question 10

How many participants are in semantically similar group ?

Answer 10

16

Question 11

How many participants are in semantically dissimilar group ?

Answer 11

21

Question 12

What were participants presented ?

Answer 12

1 of 4 lists, including 10 words on slideshow presented for 4 trials

Question 13

What were acoustically similar condition presented ?

Answer 13

Monosyllabic words that share similar word e.g man, cab, can, max

Question 14

What were acoustically dissimilar condition presented ?

Answer 14

Monosyllabic words that don’t sound the same e.g. pit, few, cow, pen

Question 15

What were the semantically similar condition presented ?

Answer 15

Words sharing a similar meaning e.g. great, large, big, huge

Question 16

What were the semantically dissimilar condition presented ?

Answer 16

Words that are unconnected e.g. good, huge, hot, safe

Question 17

What did participants do after each trial ?

Answer 17

Interference test

Question 18

What did the interference test involve ?

Answer 18

Hearing & writing down 6 sequences of 8 digits 3 times, then recalling the words from the slideshow in order

Question 19

How long were the words visible ?

Answer 19

3 seconds

Question 20

How long did slide changeover take ?

Answer 20

2 seconds

Question 21

How long was writing time ?

Answer 21

8 seconds

Question 22

Where were words displayed to ensure participants concentrated on only getting the order of the words ?

Answer 22

On signs around the room

Question 23

What happened after the 4th trial ?

Answer 23

15m distractor task

Question 24

What did the distractor task involve ?

Answer 24

Self paced digit copying task

Question 25

What happened after the distractor task ?

Answer 25

Surprise 5th trial

Question 26

What did the 5th trial ensure ?

Answer 26

Truest test of long term recall

Question 27

What were 2 results of the study ?

Answer 27

1. Recall of acoustically similar words worse than dissimilar during initial learning stage 2. Recall of semantically similar & dissimilar not significant

Question 28

What does the results suggest ?

Answer 28

Acoustic & encoding was initially difficult, but it doesn't affect recall of long term memory

Question 29

What trial did memory of words switch to long term memory ?

Answer 29

4th trial

Question 30

What 2 things did the study conclude ?

Answer 30

1. More difficult to recall list 1 2. Recall in study 3 impaired comparing to others

Question 31

What does participants finding it more difficult to recall list 1 suggest ?

Answer 31

Short term memory is largely acoustic, acoustically similar words more difficult to encode

Question 32

What does recall of list 3 being impaired suggest ?

Answer 32

Semantically similar = long term memory encodes semantically

Question 33

How can the study be generalisable ?

Answer 33

Long term memory is universal so can be representative of all society

Question 34

How can the study not be generalisable ?

Answer 34

Small sub groups for acoustic & semantic groups, not representative of all society

Question 35

How is the study reliable ?

Answer 35

Standardised procedures, words visible = 3s etc., can be replicated for consistency of the results

Question 36

How did Baddeley improve reliability of the study ?

Answer 36

Changed read aloud words (1s) in earlier experiments to slideshow (2s)

Question 37

How does the study lack ecological validity ?

Answer 37

Lab experiment = demand characteristics, cannot find clear cause & relationship

Question 38

How does the study have high internal validity ?

Answer 38

Control over EVs, signs = reducing risk that unfamiliar words are more difficult to recall, recalling word order, clear cause and effect

Question 39

How does the study lack task validity ?

Answer 39

Trials 1-4, completing word list recall 4 times, artificial tasks

Question 40

How does the study have high task validity ?

Answer 40

Surprise trial, participants didn't expect it, true recall of long term memory, high mundane realism

Question 41

How does the study lack being ethically sound ?

Answer 41

Participants could not give informed consent for retest trial

Question 42

How can the study by applicated to society ?

Answer 42

Led to the development of the working memory recall