Grant's study

Question 1

What was the aim of Grant’s study?

Answer 1

To investigate the effect of context dependent memory on both recall and recognition for meaningful information (not word lists)

Question 2

What is context dependent memory?

Answer 2

Suggests that memory is improved if the environment that the learning takes place in is the same as the environment where the memory is recalled

Question 3

what was the hypothesis of Grant’s study?

Answer 3

Context dependent memory will benefit recall memory but not recognition

Question 4

What is recall memory?

Answer 4

When you have to remember information with no prompts

Question 5

What is recognition memory?

Answer 5

A way of remembering where you recognise the answer from a list

Question 6

What are the research methods of Grant’s study?

Answer 6

Lab experiment
Independent measures

Question 7

What was the background to Grant’s study?

Answer 7

Godden & Baddeley - deep divers study
Outshining hypothesis - context dependent memory will benefit recall but not recognition tasks because the recognition items ac as such strong retrieval that they ‘outshine’ environmental context and cues

Question 8

What was the sample of Grant’s study?

Answer 8

39 people ranging from 17 to 56 years old, 17 females and 22 males

Question 9

How was the sample collected in Grant’s study?

Answer 9

8 Psychology students from iowa state university acted as experimenters - they each recruited 5 acquaintances to participate (opportunity sampling)

Question 10

How was recall measured in Grant’s study?

Answer 10

10 short answer open questions

Question 11

How was recognition measured in Grant’s study?

Answer 11

16 Multiple choice questions

Question 12

What were the test conditions in Grant’s study?

Answer 12

Matching: Silent - silent, noisy - noise
Mismatching: Noisy - silent, silent - noisy

Question 13

What was the procedure of Grant’s study?

Answer 13

Participants read through a two-page academic article on psychoimmunology while wearing a pair of headphones - half of them did this in silence, and the other half listened to background noise from the university cafeteria.
They then completed a test of memory on what they had read. Again, they were split and half listened to background noise while the others were in silence
Between these they had a two minute break

Question 14

Why were participants given a two minute break in between reading and recalling/recognising in Grant’s study?

Answer 14

so that they weren’t being tested on short term memory.

Question 15

What were the results of the recall part of Grant’s study?

Answer 15

Silent-silent = 6.7
Silent-noisy = 4.6
Noisy-silent = 5.4
Noisy-noisy = 6.2

Question 16

What were the results of the recognition part of Grant’s study?

Answer 16

Silent-silent = 14.3
silent-noisy = 12.7
noisy-silent = 12.7
noisy-noisy = 14.3

Question 17

What were the conclusions found in Grant’s study?

Answer 17

Both recall and recognition is better when the context matches - participants recalled significantly more information about the article when the study and test conditions matched then when they did not.

Question 18

How is it possible to explain the fact that context-dependent effects have been reliably found for recall tasks but not recognition tasks?

Answer 18

The ‘outshining’ hypothesis suggested that recognition items themselves act as such strong retrieval cu4s that they overshadow the relatively weak contribution of environmental context cues.

Question 19

Why were participants given an article from an academic book to read, rather than simply being tested on their ability to remember unrelated words?

Answer 19

Because the information is more meaningful and relevant to their day-to-day life.

Question 20

Why did Grant manipulate the presence or absence of background noise, rather than the presence or absence of background music?

Answer 20

Because different people have different music tastes and so it makes it more realistic for all participants, as they aren’t listening to something unfamiliar

Question 21

Why was the recall test put first in Grant’s study?

Answer 21

To ensure any information being recalled was from the reading of the text rather than from the multiple choice test.

Question 22

Why were participants informed of the condition they would be in before testing began?

Answer 22

to get informed consent from participants

Question 23

How well did Grant do in terms of ethics?

Answer 23

He did very well, pretty much everything was good except potentially deception as they were told it was a comprehension study rather than a memory one.

Question 24

Was Grant’s study ethnocentric?

Answer 24

yes, as all participants were american and acquaintances of the researchers, so all knew each other
but could be argued that it is species specific

Question 25

Did Grant’s study have internal reliability?

Answer 25

Yes, it was very standardised

Question 26

Did Grant’s study have external reliability?

Answer 26

Not really enough people - only 39 so only 9/10 in each condition.

Question 27

Did Grant’s study have external ecological validity?

Answer 27

Kind of - they would have been used to the noise and the article, but would not usually have to recall information straight away

Question 28

Did Grant’s study have external population validity?

Answer 28

No - although they ranged in age and gender, they were all american students

Question 29

Did Grant’s study have internal construct validity?

Answer 29

yes as it was cafeteria noise and they had a 2 min break, but no as each participant only did one condition

Question 30

How does Grant’s study link to the cognitive area?

Answer 30

It investigates a cognitive process - memory (imput-process-output)

Question 31

How does Grant’s study link to the key theme of memory?

Answer 31

recognition and recall of information - students memory is improved by studying and being tested in matching noise conditions.

Question 32

How has Grant’s study changed our understanding of the key theme of memory?

Answer 32

By showing that as well as being affected by information gained after the event, memory is also affected by the environment conditions in which the information is learned and retrieved.

Question 33

How hasn’t Grant’s study changed our understanding of individual, social and cultural diversity?

Answer 33

It only looks at the environment, not the people

Question 34

What are two differences between Grant’s study and Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 34

Looked at different types of memory (L&P = reconstructive, false memory syndrome, Grant = Context dependent memory)
Sample size (L&P = 195, grant = 39)

Question 35

What are two similarities between Grant’s study and Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 35

Both highly controlled lab experiments
Both lack ecological validity

Question 36

How does Grant’s study link to psychology as a science?

Answer 36

It is very objective (quantitative data), falsifiable and replicable

Question 37

How does Grant’s study link to the usefulness of research?

Answer 37

Has practical application in studying/revising so could be used in education

Question 38

How does Grant’s study link to the individual/situational debate?

Answer 38

situational - focussed on the environment - noise or not - similar results between participants
Individual - all had individual methods of processing and did get different results in the test

Question 39

How does Grant’s study link to the reductionism/holism debate?

Answer 39

holistic - looked at both recall and recognition - different context of memory (bit of a stretch tho)
Reductionist - Only looked at context and how noise affects memory

Question 40

How does Grant’s study link to the free-will/determinism debate?

Answer 40

Determinist - environmental determinism - noise or not - environment determining the way their memory functions
Free-will - the participants chose the answers to the questions - the study is literally measuring the differences in their choices