Grant et al. (1998)

Question 1

What was the aim of research by Grant et al.?

Answer 1

To test for context dependent effects caused by the presence or absence of noise during learning and retrieval of meaningful material

Question 2

What is context dependent memory?

Answer 2

Context-dependent memory refers to improved recall of information when the context present at encoding and recalling information are the same.

Question 3

What was the research method used in research by Grant et al.

Answer 3

A lab experiment using an independent measures design.

Question 4

What were the IVs in research by Grant et al.

Answer 4

Whether the participant read the two page article under silent or noisy conditions.

Whether the participant was tested under matching or mismatching conditions.

Question 5

What sample was used in research by Grant et al.?

Answer 5

8 members of a psychology lab class served as experimenters. Each experimenter recited 5 acquaintances to serve as the participants.

There were 39 participants, ranging in age from 17 to 56 years.

There were 17 were female, 23 were male, one persons data was taken out of the research.

Question 6

Outline the procedure in Grant et al.’s research.

Answer 6

Students were tested 1 at a time. The 4 conditions were: SS, SN, NS, NN.

Each participant wore headphones. Each experimenter provided his/her own cassette player and headphones. The eight cassettes were exact copies made from a master tape of background noise recorded during lunchtime in a university cafeteria.

The participants read a two-page, three-columned article on psychoimmunology.

The time they took to read the article was recorded and after 2 minutes of finishing they completed to tests.

The 10 short-answer test was always administered first to ensure that recall of information from the article was being tested and not recall of information from the 16 multiple- choice test (with 4 possible choices).

The entire procedure lasted about 30 minutes.

Question 7

What were the key findings from Grant et al.’s research?

Answer 7

There a significant effect of studying and testing in the same conditions.
People performed best when they learnt and took the tests in the same conditions.

Question 8

What were the main conclusions from Grant et al study?

Answer 8

There are context-dependency effects for newly learned meaningful material regardless of whether a short-answer test or a multiple-choice test
is used to assess learning.

Studying and testing in the same environment leads to enhanced performance.

Students perform best in quite conditions.

Question 9

Evaluate the research method used in Grant et al’s reserach.

Answer 9

Grant et al carried out a controlled lab experiment and this method fulfils the scientific criteria of theory, control, evidence and replication.

The study used an independent measures design, this could mean there are individual differences in between groups.

Question 10

Evaluate the research method data collected in Grant et al’s reserach.

Answer 10

The study collected quantitative data which enables it to be easily summarised an compared in between conditions.

Question 11

Discuss the ethical issues in Grant et al. research.

Answer 11

The study was conducted within ethical guidelines. Information consent was obtained and participants were briefed about the task they were to undertake and involvement was voluntary,

They were fully debriefed.

Question 12

To what extent can research by Grant et al be seen as valid?

Answer 12

A highly controlled lab experiment, high design validity. The procedure and apparatus were standardised and participants tested individually.

A number of controls were applied.

Question 13

To what extent can research by Grant et al be seen as ecologically valid?

Answer 13

They were aimed to test context dependent memory using a more ecological valid task than previous studies.

Reading an article was more ecologically valid in terms of in a educational learning environment.

However, the task conducted was not part of a lesson, some heard artificial background noise which reduced the ecological validity,

They were not typical examination conditions.

Question 14

To what extent can research by Grant et al be seen as ecologically reliable?

Answer 14

The study was a highly controlled laboratory experiment. The procedure was standardised as it was recreated for 39 participants in different conditions.

Inter-rater reliability between the two tests.

Question 15

Discuses the sampling bias within Grant et al.’s study.

Answer 15

Grant et al obtained an opportunity ample. They are convenient especially in a university situation.

The sample may have been bias as only friends of the experimenters were used.

Question 16

To what extent can research by Grant et al. be seen as ethnocentric?

Answer 16

Cognitive processes such as reconstructive memory depend on the physiognomy of are brains , this is not related to your culture,

However the study was conducted in America and findings may have been different to individuals who has not has western education.

Question 17

To what extent can Grant et al.’s research support psychology as a science?

Answer 17

Grant et al carried out a controlled lab experiment and these fulfil scientific criteria of theory, control, evidence and replication.

Question 18

Discuss research by Grant et al. in relation to the individual vs situational debate.

Answer 18

This study suggests that performance of students in exams if affected by the situational factor of the circumstance sin which we revise as opposed just to individual factors.

Question 19

How does research by Grant et al relate to the cognitive area?

Answer 19

It investigates the cognitive process of memory.

Specifically, it aimed to investigate context dependent memory.

This study demonstrated a context dependency effect on both recall and recognition.

Question 20

How does research by Grant et al. relate to the key theme?

Answer 20

The key theme is memory.

Grant et al.s study demonstrates that, in the case of newly learned material, students memory was improved by studying and being tested in matching environments.

Grant et al. added to the understanding of dependent memory, as opposed to reconstructive memory.

Grant et al did not change our understanding of social and cultural diversity, since they were studying students from a similar background and the same culture as Loftus and Palmer.

Question 21

What are the similarities between Loftus and Palmer and Grant et al.?

Answer 21

The two studies were highly controlled lab experiment carried out at a university campus.

Both studies used an independent measures designs,

The samples were both made of of university students.

Both studies were conducted ethically.

Both studies gathered quantitative data.

Question 22

What are the differences between Loftus and Palmer and Grant et al.?

Answer 22

Lotus and Palmer were investigating reconstructive memory in eyewitness testimony, Grant et al. were investigating context dependent memory.

Loftus and Palmer could not easily generalise their findings to the intended target population because of student bias in the sample. However, for Grant et al. their target population was students.