grant

Question 1

research method

Answer 1

• carried out a controlled lab experiment that fulfils the scientific criteria
• individual measures design however this may have influenced the findings as there could be individual differences between the groups such as learning conditions that mght have influenced the findings

Question 3

data

Answer 3

• collected and reported quantitative data which enables data to be easily summarised and compared between conditions
• The collection of quantitative scores on the 16 multiple choice test and the 10 short answer test allowed the researchers to analyse and compare data between the conditions so that they could easily see that matching conditions achieved the most accurate memory recall.

Question 4

ethicak guildelines upheld

Answer 4

• informed consent
• debriefed

Question 5

validity

Answer 5

• high ecological validity: The students were given material that was very similar to course material they would receive at university. They were also told to ‘treat this as a class assignment. Therefore the study has increased ecological validity. This is a strength as it can be better generalised to students educational settings.

Question 6

reliability

Answer 6

• high internal reliability: Grant had standardised procedure i.e. the same article, the same environment, all heard material through headphones etc. This allows the study to be easily replicated to assess consistentcy of results.
• research is replicable

Question 7

sample method

Answer 7

• opportunity sample as each student experimented recruited 5 acquaintances to take part in the study
• it is time effctivr and cost effective
• however sample bias can be risked which limits generalisability

Question 8

ethnocentric

Answer 8

• not ethnocentric: cognitive processes are the same in each culture
• ethnocentric: the study was conducted in america and the findings may be different if conducted on people who have had no western education

Question 9

psychology as a science

Answer 9

controlled lab experiments that fulfiks the scientific criteria

Question 10

how is grants study useful

Answer 10

• suggests that students are likely to perform better in exams if they study for them with a minimum of background noise in order to benefit from the context-dependency of newly learned material
• found that matching environments improve memory recall. Therefore, as students will be completing their exams in silence, they should match this with silent revision in order to enhance their chances of better memory recall, and help to increase academic grades.

Question 11

situation

individual/situational debate

Answer 11

• suggests that the performance of students in exams may be affected by situational factors

Question 12

how does grants study link to the cognitive area

Answer 12

• it is investigating the cognitive process of memory
• the study demonstrated a context dependency effect on both recall and recognition of newly learnt meaningful material

Question 13

key theme of grant

Answer 13

memory

Question 14

how does grants study link to the key theme

Answer 14

• demonstrates that in the case of newly learned meaningful materials, students memory was improved by studying and being tested in matching environments
• this context dependent effect was true for both recall and recognition of the material they had learnt

Question 15

how grant changes our understanding of key theme

Answer 15

Memory recall is improved where the recall environment is the same as the environment the memory was formed in.
- grant does not change our understanding since they were studyung students from a similar background and culture as loftus and palmer

Question 16

how does grant change our understanding of cultural, social and individual diverdity

Answer 16

• individual: Our understanding of how individuals behave due to the increasingly detailed models of
  behaviour that explain specific elements of memory processing and how memory can be improved or distorted. As an example Grant et al found that, further to Loftus
  and Palmer’s conclusion that post-event information can affect memory recall, the ability to recall information is also affected by cues and the setting in which material
  has been processed in the first place.

Question 17

similarities between grant and loftus and palmer

Answer 17

• both were highly controlled lab experiments that were carried out on university campuses
• both studies used an independent measures design
• the sample in both studies were made of university students
• conducted ethically
• gathered quantitative data

Question 18

how is grant and loftus and palmer different

Answer 18

• loftus and palmer could not easily generalise their findings to the intended target population because of student bias in the sample
• however grant intended population was students so it was generalisable