Cognitive Approach 1 - Andrade et al. Flashcards
When was the study done?
2010.
What were the two aims of the study?
- To explore the cognitive effects of doodling.
- To find out of doodling assists information processing, perhaps by enabling people to attend more effectively, or by enhancing their memory.
When was Do & Schallert?
2004
What did Do & Schallert discover?
Doodling aids concentration by reducing daydreaming, resulting in better focus.
When was Wilson & Korn?
2007
What did Wilson & Korn explore?
Whether doodling can maintain arousal by giving you something to do, preventing sleepiness and boredom.
Define doodling.
The sketching of patterns and figures that are unrelated to the primary task and must not take cognitive resources away from the intended task.
What was the experiment type?
Lab experiment.
What was the experiment design?
Independent Measures Design.
How many people were in the control group and how many of each gender?
20
18 female
2 male
How many people were in the experimental group and how many of each gender?
20
17 female
3 male
How many participants were there overall in the sample?
40
What ages was the sample?
18 - 55
What was the sampling method?
Opportunity sampling.
Where were all the participants from?
The medical research council.
What had the participants just completed prior to Andrade’s study?
Another study.
What was the IV?
Whether or not they doodled.
What was the DV?
Memory recall.
What did all participants have to listen to?
A dull (fake) phone call about a party that was made deliberately boring.
When did the participants either doodle or not doodle?
During the listening task.
What were the two tasks the participants had to complete after listening to the phone call?
Monitoring task - people going to the party
Recall task - place names
How were the tasks counterbalanced?
Half had to recall place names first and half had to recall partygoers first.
What were false alarms?
People mentioned who did not attend the party.
How was the final score collected?
No. of correct names - false alarms.
How long did the phone call last?
2.5 minutes
How fast was the phone call?
227 words per minute
What were all the things mentioned in the phone call?
8 people attending the party
3 people not
1 cat
8 place names
Describe the sheet that the doodlers could doodle on.
A4 sheet. Alternating rows of squares and circles (10 per row). Wide margin on the left for recording the information.
What things were told to be irrelevant to the doodlers about their doodles?
Speed and neatness
What sort of paper were the control group given?
Lined paper to write their answers on. They could doodle but none of them did.
What happened after the phone call finished?
The experimenter talked to the participant for a minute and apologized for misleading them about the memory test. Then they administered the recall and monitoring tasks.
What was the mean number of shaded shapes?
36.3
What was the range of shaded shapes?
3-110
What was the mean recall of partygoers in the control group and how many false alarms?
7.1 people
5 had a false alarm
What was the mean recall of partygoers in the experimental group and how many false alarms?
7.8 people
1 false alarm
What was the overall average for places and names recall for the control group?
5.8
What was the overall average for places and names recall for the experimental group?
7.5
How much more, on average, did the doodlers recall than the non-doodlers?
29%
What two explanations are there for why the doodlers performed better on both tasks?
- The doodlers noticed more of the target words because of an effect on attention
- Doodling encourages memory directly (possibly by encouraging deeper information processes).
What are 8 strengths of this study?
Well controlled extraneous variables due to a well controlled environment
Highly standardised
High internal validity
High reliability
Doodling was operationalised
Wide variety of ages in sample
Good quantitative data
Debrief afterwards
What are 9 weaknesses of this study?
Low ecological validity
Possible participant variables
Gender imbalance
Not very wide sample (interested in psych and from recruitment panel)
Problematic generalisability
Risk of demand characteristics
Lack of self-reporting
Unable to give full consent because of deception
Doodling not free form as it is in real life
What is a conclusion from Andrade?
Doodling helps concentration on a primary task.
