Grant et al. - 1998 Flashcards
How does the environment impact memory recall?
recall is better when the participant is in the same environment that information was learned
What is state-dependent retrieval?
you have to be in the same state during retrieval as you were in during encoding (drunk or sober)
What is the encoding Specificity Principle?
memory is best when information is provided at encoding is present at time of retrieval
What is context dependent memory?
improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same
What did Godden and Baddeley test?
memory of scuba divers on land vs. in water
What did Godden and Baddeley find?
the environment they were introduced to the info was the one where they recalled the best
What should be done if there is a delay in learning and recall?
vary the setting when revising as it aids memory by adding context cues that boost recall
What was Grant interested in, in regards to memory?
whether environmental context-dependency effects would be found with the type of material and type of tests (esp. in school)
What did Grant aim to show about context-dependency?
that environmental context can have a positive affect on performance when the test takes place in the same environment the material was originally studied in therefore be more meaningful
What are the two types of memory tested in Grant’s study?
recall and recognition
What type of questions relate to recall?
short answer
What type of questions relate to recognition?
multiple choice
How does context dependency relate to the two types of questions?
context-dependency effects on memory for lists of unrelated words are shown more often with recall than recognition
What is a sentence to summarise the study?
39 participants all read an article in either noisy or silent conditions and reading comprehension is tested
What is the aim?
to show that environmental context can have a positive effect on performance and be meaningful
What are the 2 IVs in this study?
1- silent or noisy
2- matching or unmatching
What is the DV?
performance on recall and recognition tests
What is the method of the study?
lab experiment
What are strengths of this method?
high control over EVs = more valid results
What are the weaknesses of this method?
- lacks ecologically validity (artificial environment)
- lacks mundane realism
- demand characteristics are more likely
What was the design?
independent measures
What is a strength of the design?
- reduces order effects (fatigue, boredom, & practice)
What is the experimenter sample?
8 psychology students
What is the sample?
- 39 (orig. 40)
- 17-56 age range
- 17 female & 23 male
What are the weaknesses of the sample?
- lack population validity
- small = not representative = not generalisable
How were the participants gathered?
each of the 8 experimenters were asked to gather 5 acquaintances each
What were the 3 stimuli?
1- cassette tape of background noise
2- reading material
3- tests
What was the background noise?
recorded noise from the university cafeteria
What are some types of noise in the cassette tape?
- conversations
- movement of chairs
How was the cassette tapes standardised?
- exact copies were made for each experimenter
What was the reading material?
an article on psychoimmunology
What were the two types of test?
1- 10 short-answer (recall)
2- 16 multiple choice (recognition)
Why is the order of the tests important?
the short answer has to be first to ensure information was recalled from the article was being tested and not information from the multiple choice
How were the questions ordered?
the same order as they appeared in the article
How were participants allocated to a condition of the IV?
randomly
What is a strength of using allocation method?
reduced experimenter bias
What was step 1 of the procedure?
instructions were read aloud
What are some details of the instructions?
- participation was voluntary
- it was a class project
What was the first task for participants?
to read the article once as if for an assignment - highlighting underlining etc.,
What did experimenter record during this period?
reading time
What were participants informed of?
that their reading comprehension will be tested
What was standardised about the procedure?
ALL participants wore headphones even if in silent condition
What happened after the article was read?
a 2 minute break
What is the significance of this break?
it minimises chance of recall from the short term memory
How were the tests carried out?
short answer and then multiple choice
What were the conditions of these tests?
- tested in either noisy or silent conditions
- informed of condition before testing
- regardless of condition wore headphones
What happened at the end of the tests?
a debrief
How long did the procedure last?
30 minutes
What is important to note about the results?
1/40 participants results were not analysed due to being over the standard deviation of the group mean
What was recorded to create results?
1- mean reading time (mins)
2- mean correct answers on the two tests
What are some findings?
- participants in all groups spent roughly equal amounts of time studying the material
- studying and testing in the same environment produced better results
- no overall effect of noise on performance
What type of data was collected?
quantitative data
What are strengths of quantitative data?
- objective
- easy to analyse and compare
What are the weaknesses of quantitative data?
- no reasoning ‘WHY’ for behaviour
What are the conclusions from the study?
- there are context dependency effects for newly learned meaningful material
- studying and testing in the same environment leads to enhanced performance
What are the practical applications for this study?
- students
