Cognitive Studies Flashcards
What are the five main points for Baddeley’s study? (AO1)
(Aim: difference between encoding in STM (acoustically) and LTM (semantically), and if they are encoded in the same form)
- 72 participants from Cambridge Applied Psychology Unit using an independent groups design
- four conditions (acoustically dis/similar words, semantically dis/similar words)
- testing STM: projected 10 words every 3 seconds followed by a distraction task. Then, they were asked to recall the word list in order
- testing LTM: interference task for 15 mins. then a surprise retest
- results were poorer for acoustically similar sounding words than acoustically dissimilar words for STM. Results were poorer for semantically similar words than semantically dissimilar words for LTM
GRAVE for Baddeley?
G
+used both males and females so not gender biased
- sample used students from Cambridge’s Applied Psychology Unit so it may be difficult to generalise results in other populations (LINKED TO POPULATION VALIDITY)
- volunteer sample
- possible culture bias
R
+standardised procedures
+quantitative data which can be analysed objectively
A
+learnt a lot about memory which may benefit our knowledge of cognitive psychology which may improve applications such as revision for students, for example
V
+used an independent groups design which may mean that cause and effect are established
+high control so eliminates the issue of extraneous variables
- artificial test and environment s issues in mundane realism and ecological validity
- using an independent groups design may mean that participant variables such as individual differences may affect establishing cause and effect
E
+participants were debriefed
+study was unlikely to cause physical or emotional harm
- Use of deception
- l]ack of fully informed consent
What debates is Baddeley linked to?
- culture and gender bias
- reductionism (focusing on the four categories, for example)
- psychology as a science (high control over extraneous variables and the use of empirical data)
- the use of psychological knowledge within society
Link to methods for Baddeley?
- the use of an independent groups design and repeated measures design
- volunteer sample
- lab experiment
What are the five main points for the Sebastián and Hernández-Gil study? (AO1)
(Aim: Too look at the developmental trends in the size of the digit spans in Spanish population/whether findings from Anglo-Saxon populations would be replicated as age increases/compare with digit spans of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and with healthy elderly people)
- 570 volunteers from Madrid, Spain (native speakers)
- excluded people with hearing, reading and writing impairments
- cross-sectional study from preschool (age 5) to secondary (age 15-17) during the students’ break
- (procedure) random digits were read out (1 per second) to the spoken back to the experimenter and starts with three digits with one digit added per sequence; digit span is recorded when the last sequence is recalled without error or omission
- (result) average digit span calculated for each group; primary (3.76), secondary (5.83) which showed a developmental trend just like the Anglo-Saxon research. However, digit span was far lower in the Spanish population (may be due to word length effect)
GRAVE for S&HG?
G
+large sample size of 570 children so generalisable to target population
-small sample size of 25 elderly patients so comparisons may not be generalisable
R
+standardised instructions and procedures (internal r)
+the same results have been found in Welsh-speaking children (world length effect affecting digit span) (external r)
A
+supports the working memory model (the use of the articulatory rehearsal system to sub vocalise words which links with the word length effect)
+showed that the reduction of digit span is due to age and not a indicator of Alzheimer’s disease
+helps identify developmental delays
V
+children with hearing impairments were excluded so it was well controlled
+produced quantitative data
- researchers did not properly test for hearing impairments as they based this off parental reports
- lacks mundane realism (not an everyday task for testing digit span)
E
+unlikely to have caused harm due to the simple task being given
+privacy was observed
- may have caused anxiety in some children
- may not have been fully informed consent because there are issues in studying children and people with memory problems
What debates is S&HG linked to?
- reductionism (specifically measuring verbal memory)
- culture bias
- psychology as a science (standardisation)
- the use of psychological knowledge within society
Link to methods for S&HG?
- volunteer sample
* lab experiment
What are the five main points for HM? (AO1)
*suffered from epilepsy and seizures so he had to take antiepileptic drugs
*removed his hippocampus in both of his temporal lobes
*STM was relatively intact only if maintenance rehearsal was used
*suffered from retrograde amnesia (the 11 year period before his surgery)
*suffered from anterograde amnesia (can’t make new memories) so he could not remember how old he was, new words, etc.
(above suggests that the hippocampus is involved in the transfer of information from STM and LTM, and that STM and LTM are separate stores supporting the multistore model)
Additional info:
*did a mirror drawing task with Milner (1962) in drawing a star by looking at his hand in a mirror. He improved through time
(above shows that LTM is not just declarative memory, but also procedural memory supporting Tulving (1985))
*was a participant in a study done by Schmolck et al (2002) which looked at semantic memory of patients with temporal lobe damage. HM was unique as he had a monotone voice and made many grammatical errors so they concluded that his language-related deficits were due to interrupted schooling and frequent seizures (so the influence of nurture, not nature)
GRAVE for HM?
G
-generalising a case study to a target population may cause issues as HM is unique
R
+supported by other case studies such as Clive Wearing (hippocampus destroyed by n infection so he could no longer make new memories)
+triangulation method (interviews, observations, and experiments such as Milner’s experiment) which increases the reliability of the conclusion and findings
-idiographic method (one-off) so difficulty replicating effects external reliability
A
+shows that STM and LTM are separate stores
+shows that procedural memory is a part of LTM
+shows that the hippocampus is a part of transferring memories from STM to LTM
V
+produced qualitative data (e.g., conversations abut what he could remember before the surgery to treat his epilepsy)
+use of lab experiments
- use of qualitative data
- difficulty establishing cause and effect (not studied what he was like before the surgery)
E
+privacy while he was still alive
-difficulty in giving fully informed consent due to memory issues
What debates is HM linked to?
- psychology as a science (triangulation)
- ethics
- nature vs nurture (schmolck et al)
- socially sensitive research (effects on his family; findings affecting other brain damaged patients)
- the use of psychological knowledge on society
