Grant COGNITIVE

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

Look at EC effects with type of material and type of tests typically encountered in school

Effect of noise

Question 2

Design

Answer 2

Data collected outside lab ie dorm rooms

Field experiment
Laboratory experiment - conditions intended to be well controlled

Question 3

Conditions

Answer 3

4

Read in silence do test in silence
Silence background noise
Background noise silence
BN BN

1 and 4 - matching
2 and 3 - mismatching

Question 4

IV

Answer 4

Whether reading and test were matching or not

Second IV
Compared effects of noise vs silent (studying)

Question 5

DV

Answer 5

Number of items correctly recalled on short answer and multiple choice test

Question 6

Design type

Answer 6

Independent measures design

Each ps did one of four conditions

Question 7

Sample

Answer 7

8 experimenters - members of psychology laboratory class

Each experimenter recruited 5 ps

Total 39 ps

Opportunity sample

Age: 17-56

17 females 22 males

Question 8

Materials

Answer 8

Passage to read (2 page article)
Noisy tape - cafe
Headphones
Test of recall: 10 short answer and 16 multiple choice questions

Question 9

Procedure

Answer 9

Standardised instructions read

Ps asked to read article once
Warned test

All ps wore headphones while read
Told ignore noise if had it

Time taken to read passage

Finished reading: 2 min break

Ps tested using tests

Debriefed

Question 10

Results

Answer 10

All conditions - similar time reading

Better performance: multiple choice

Lowest score multiple: 79%
Highest score short: 67%

Higher scores on two matching conditions

Significant EC effect for both tests

Noisy conditions performed better

Question 11

Conclusion(s)

Answer 11

1) Environmental context-dependency effects occur for meaningful material.

2) Both recognition and recall are affected by environmental context-dependency effects.

3) Background noise does not appear to have a detrimental effect on studying.