Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

To investigate the serial position effect (primacy & recency effect & to determine whether there are two seperate memory stores).

Question 2

Method

Answer 2

240 US Army enlisted males divided into groups of 40 participants were given the same list of 20 words. One group recalled the words immediately, while the other was given a 30 second filler task (counting backwards from 100 in 3’s) immediately after hearing the last word.

Question 3

Results

Answer 3

Words at the beginning (primacy effect, had been rehearsed & passed into LTM) & words at the end (recency effect, were still being rehearsed in STM) of the list were recalled most frequently. Recency effect disappeared in delayed group as filler task displaced words from STM.

Question 4

Conclusion

Answer 4

Concluded that this experiment provides evidence of the existence of 2 memory stores: LTM & STM.

Question 5

Strengths

Answer 5

• Offers evidence of two memory stores.

* Highly internal validity.

Question 6

Limitations

Answer 6

• Lacks ecological validity.

* Not random allocation so therefore not true experiment.