Grant et al (context dependency memory)

Question 1

How does Grants study relate to the cognitive area?

Answer 1

A study which shows another way in which memory can be affected- in the case, by whether information is recalled in a similar context to that which it was first encountered.

Question 2

FACT CARD

Answer 2

grant’s study is all to with memory enhancement

Question 3

What does context-dependent memory refer to?

Answer 3

It refers to improved recall of episodes or information when the encoding and retrieval context are the same

Question 4

FACT CARD

Answer 4

Context dependency effects typically interpreted as showing that the characteristics of the environment are encoded of part of the memory and can be traced to retrieve the information you have learned in the same environment or enhance memory retrieval.

Question 5

What was the Aim of the study?

Answer 5

The study aimed to show that environment context can have a positive effect on performance in a memory test in the same environment.

Question 6

How many groups where there and what where there conditions and how many participants where in each group?

Answer 6

There was 4 groups and each consisted of 10 people.
Group 1- Studied in silence and tested in silence
Group 2- studied in silence and tested I noisy conditions
Group 3- studied in noisy conditions and tested in silence
Group 4- studied in noisy conditions and tested in noisy conditions

Question 7

What research method did they use?

Answer 7

Lab experiment

Question 8

What measures design did they use?

Answer 8

Independent measures design

Question 9

What were the 2 independent variables?

Answer 9

1. The testing conditions

2. The reading conditions

Question 10

What were the three dependent variables?

Answer 10

1. Reading time
2. Performance on multiple-choice test
3. Performance on short answer test

Question 11

Describe the sample used?

Answer 11

There were 39 participants but one was excluded due to their results. 8 psychology students had to recruit 5 acquaintances each to serve as participants the sample consisted of 17 female and 23 male with a mean of 23.4.

Question 12

FACT CARD

Answer 12

Participants only participated in only one of the four conditions.

Question 13

Stimuli

What did each exoerimenter provide?

Answer 13

They provided his/her own cassette player and their own headphones to the participants

Question 14

How where the cassettes controlled?

Answer 14

All eight were the exact same copies made from the master tape of background noise at lunchtime in a university café

Question 15

What did the background noises on the cassettes consist of?

Answer 15

occasional distant words or phrases embedded with general conversations, inter mixed with the sound of chair movement and dishes and it was played to them at a moderately loud level.

Question 16

Why were participants that had silent reading conditions wear headphones?

Answer 16

This is a control measure as the researchers can be sure that the wearing off headphones didn’t effect the results and the IV (cause and effect)

Question 17

FACT CARD

Answer 17

The time was recorded but not controlled

Question 18

How long did the participants get before they had to do the first test?

Answer 18

2 minute break this is also a control

Question 19

Describe the 1st test

Answer 19

They used 10 short answer questions that could be used to get answers using a single word or phrase

Question 20

Why was the sort answer questions done first?

Answer 20

To ensure information was recalled from the article and not information from the multiple choice test

Question 21

Describe the second test?

Answer 21

16 Multiple choice questions with four possible answers

Question 22

Draw two conclusions from the findings in this study

Answer 22

1. Studying and then testing in the same environment leads to enhanced performance
2. Students are more likely to preform better with minimum background noise because, although there was no overall effect on performance on background noise, the fact that there was evidence for context dependency that they are better of studying without background noise as this is not what they will be actually tested in.