Cognitive Psychology Core Studies Flashcards
Aim of L+P experiment 1
To investigate the effect of leading questions on memory recall
IV and DV for L+P experiment 1
IV = word in the critical condition - smashed, hit, collided, bumped, contacted
DV = estimation of speed given by ppts
Research method of L+P
Lab experiment
Sample of L+P
Opportunistic
Procedure of L+P experiment 1
- ppt sat in lecture theatre and watched a clip of a car crash
- ppts split into 5 groups with 9 ppts in each group
- ppts answered questions about the car crash
- some filler questions but one questions was the critical question
- critical question = ‘about how fast were the cars going when they … into each other’
- blank could have been smashed, hit, collided, bumped or contacted
Results of L+P experiment 1
Smashed = 40.8mph
Collided = 39.3mph
Bumped = 38.1mph
Hit = 34mph
Contacted = 31.8mph
Conclusion of L+P experiment 1
Leading questions do effect memory recall, in this case changing the verb to smashed gave a higher estimation of speed by ppts
Aim of L+P experiment 2
To see if post event info affects memory recall
IV and DV of L+P experiment 2
IV = verb used, smashed, hit or no questions about speed
DV = response to critical question and whether they saw broken glass or not
Sample of L+P experiment 2
150 American uni students, similar age, similar background
Procedure of L+P experiment 2
- ppts sat in lecture theatre and watched a clip of a car crash
- ppts split into 3 groups with 50 ppts in each group
- ppts answered questions about the crash
- 2 experimental groups and 1 control
- experimental groups asked “about how fast were the cars going when they … into each other”
- the blank was either smashed or hit
- control group asked about speed
- ppts came back a week later and asked critical question “did you see any broken glass”
Results of L+P experiment 2
Smashed
Yes - 16 No - 34
Hit
Yes - 7 No - 43
Control
Yes - 6 No - 44
Conclusions of L+P experiment 2
Post event info does affect memory recall
Evaluation of L+P
- low ecological validity because ppts knew they were taking part in an experiment
- only used uni students so not representative of non uni students
- high internal validity because extraneous variables controlled
Aim of Grant
Whether contact dependency effects would be found with the type of material and tests in school
Research method of Grant
Independent measures designed
Lab experiment
IV and DV of Grant
IV = study and retrieval context (silent vs noisy)
DV = memory, measuring scores on short answer tests and multiple choice
Sample of Grant
8 psychology students who recruited 5 acquaintances
39 ppts
17-56
17 females
23 males
Procedure of Grant
- cassette player and headphones provided
- 8 cassette players with background noise of cafeteria sound
- article on psychoimmunology
- 16 MCQ
- 10 short answer Qs
- short answer always before MCQ
- ppts read article, allowed to underline and highlight
- all ppts wore headphones whilst they read
Results of Grant
Short answer (/10)
SS = 6.7
SN = 4.6
NS = 5.4
NN = 6.2
Multiple choice (/16)
SS = 14.3
SN = 12.7
NS = 12.7
NN = 14.3
No significant difference in reading times
Conclusions of Grant
- students likely to do better in exams if study with minimum of background noise as will not be present in exam
- studying and testing in same environment lead to enhanced performance
Evaluation of Grant
- high design validity - standardised
- not truly representative of assessments under typical exam conditions so low ecological validity
- all headphones noise was the same so reliable
