Cogntive + Criminological Pratical Flashcards
What was the aim of your cognitive and criminological practical
Investigate the effect of memory decay on an eye witnesses memory recall when participants had a time delay in between reporting an incident.
What was the IV in you practical
Amount of time between the witnessing the stabbing incident and recall
Condition A: immediate recall
Condition B: recall after a time delay- I week - 7 days/8 days (be precise)
What was the DV in you practical
Dependent Variable :
Memory recall of the stabbing - amount of correctly answered questions on a cued recall (fixed response) memory test based around the event ( total = 10)
What was the alternative hypothesis in your practical
There will be a significant difference in the amount of correctly answered questions in a cued recall about a stabbing incident when recall is immediate compared to recall 2 weeks later….
What was the null hypothesis in your practical
There will be no significant difference in the amount of correctly answered questions in a cued recall about a stabbing incident when recall is immediate compared to recall 2 weeks later…
Identify the sampling technique and describe the sample used in your study:
opportunity sample of 15 students aged 17-18 consisting of more girls than boys
(3 boys and 12 girls)
Give one strength of the sample in THIS study (answer in context)
One strength of using an opportunity sample is that it was easy and convenient for the researcher to use.
This is because the researcher used a class of psychology students who were available at the time to watch the videos and answer the questionnaire on details of the events.
Give one weakness of the sample in THIS study (answer in context)
One weakness of the sample is that it was biased. As everyone was a psychology student of them same age making it less generalisable
Assess the level of the risk for the issue general respect in this study
LOW RISK
This is because college students were used in the sample, and the students treated each other with
respect = no
specific action needed
Assess the level of the risk for the issue informed consent in this study
MEDIUM RISK
Ps were not
initially informed of the purpose of the research.
However the p’s were aware of the topic of investigation as they were studying at the time.
Also the first part of the experiment was used to illustrate
artificiality of lab based experiments
Describe the materials used in enough detail to allow for replication.
Questionnaire 1 - Qualitative Data space then ten closed questions to obtain quantitative data.
Questionnaire 2 - Qualitative Data space then ten closed questions to obtain quantitative data.
Pen
BBC Clip of Simulated Stabbing carried out by actors. Footage from the BBC EYE WITNESS Programme BBC 2
Assess the level of the risk for the issue Deception in this study
MEDIUM RISK
P’s were led to believe the first part it of the experiment was normal classwork.
The experiment was explained at the first opportunity.
Assess the level of the risk for the issue right to withdraw in this study
MODERATE RISK
No P’s knew they were taking part as this was not possible in order to carry out this observation.
Therefore they did not have the right to withdraw.
Describe the procedure of your cognitive and criminological practical
The aim of this investigation is to explore whether time has an effect an eyewitness memory, focusing upon the concept of memory decay. This was a laboratory experiment which used a repeated measures design. The independent variable was amount of time between witnessing the stabbing incident and the dependent variable memory recall was the stabling incident.
There were 15 participants recruited to take part in this experiment. They were
recruited through an opportunity sample. All participants were aged
17-18 and attended Reigate College.
Initially the participants were informed that they were to be shown a video about an incident. They were instructed to watch the video and then they would have to complete a questionnaire about the clip. All participants sat an individual desk and watched the video without any other distractions, and they were asked not to communicate. The video clip lasted 2:09 seconds and was taken from the BBC documentary covering eyewitness testimony. After the video was finished, all participants were instructed to complete the questionnaire. On one side they were instructed to provide a free recall and qualitative account of the video. Then on the other side of the questionnaire they had to complete ten closed questions. Following this the questionnaires were collected in. A week later the participants had another questionnaire to complete. This time the questionnaire contained a free recall section and the 10 closed questions. However, these questions were organised in a different order - to prevent for order effects.
All the results were collated together and analysed through a bar graph and further through a Wilxon and the qualitative data was analysed
content analysis
Give two strengths of you practical
The study was high in reliability as it can easily be replicated. This is seen as the same video and questionnaire were used for all participants.
The study is also high in validity. This is because qualitative data was collected which was easy to analyse and compare the trends from.
