Moray (1959): Evaluation

Question 1

Strengths of the research method

Answer 1

• Lab experiment fulfil the scientific criteria of theory, control, evidence and replication. E.g he was able to isolate the independent variables of his study.
• Used a standardised procedure to control EVs, E.g he manipulated the instructions given to the Ps in E3 to test his theory that ps wouldn’t recall ‘unimportant’ details of a message, such as a list of money

Question 2

Weaknesses of research methods

Answer 2

• With it being a lab experiment, ps maybe aware they were in a study resulting in ps responding demand characteristics and giving answers they though they should give.
• Lab experiment= lack of eco val with it being done in an artifical environment

Question 3

Data

Answer 3

Quant data used= number of words from unattended list remembered and number of times ps reported gearing instructions with or without their name in unattended message

• Easy comparison between conditions and results can be summarised Eg. mean averages of number of words recognised
• Allows reliability of the research to be tested.
• Study can be repeated and the results correlated with Moray’s to establish whether or not his findings have test-retest reliability

Question 4

Ethics

Answer 4

The study was conducted ethically as tasks were clearly explained to the ps before the study and the study did put ps under any stress or discomfort

Question 5

Strengths of validity

Answer 5

A highly controlled laboratory experiment, this study has high design validity.

Question 6

Weakness of validity

Answer 6

• As the ps knew they were in a study, they may have tried to affect the outcome of the study. E.g they may have thought they were ‘supposed’ not to remember anything from the unattended message and so reported they reported they did not when in fact they did
• lack of eco val as as it was not normal to wear earphones and listen to two different messages, ps would not experience these conditions irl.

Question 7

Reliabilty

Answer 7

Highly controlled lab experiments= meets criteria for scientific research
-Can be replicated and findings can be established to see if test-retest reliability can be established

Question 8

sample

Answer 8

• Made up of students and research workers from a Uni, meaning it can be carried out quickly and more cheaply
• Students and research workers have higher cognitive ability, may outperform gp on cognitive tasks. Thus failing to represent the gp
• Small study limits generalisability

Question 9

Ethnocentrism

Answer 9

• Since cog process such as selective memory depends on the physiognomy of our brain, we could argue that this study is not ethnocentric since they are investigating a specific behavior.
• It is possible, as findings of the study only reflect how westerner’s attentional process work and it maybe that people who use a different language or culture might preform differently.

Question 10

Psychology as a science

Answer 10

Supports claims of psych being a science as carried out in lab experiments and these fulfill scientific criteria of theory, control, evidence and replication.

Question 11

Usefulness

Answer 11

Contributes to psychology as an academic discipline as it provides rigorous evidence of Cherry’s cocktail party phenomenon

-Contributed to our understanding of auditory selective attention, feeding into theories such as those by Broadbent and Treisman

Question 12

Free will vs determinism

Answer 12

Soft determinism así to suggests that although we select what we pay attention to in our environment we are only able to process a certain amount.

Question 13

Reductionist vs Holism

Answer 13

Provides reductionist explanation of behaviour as it suggests that attention deficits are a result of cognitive processes only

Question 14

Individual vs Situational

Answer 14

-Supports individual explanation as it is the focuses on factors from within the participant such as their cognitive process

Question 15

Links to areas/perspectives

Answer 15

Moray’s study is in the cognitive area because it investigates the process of attention. Specifically aimed to investigate selective attention by trying to find out whether or not ‘unattended’ material could break through the intentional barrier that is set up when a person focuses their listening on a specific task

Question 16

Links to key theme

Answer 16

• The study provides clear evidence into auditory selective attention. E.g Moray’s study confirmed Cherry’s ‘cocktail party’ effect whereby auditory information important to the individual, such as their name, can break through the attentional barrier that is put up when focusing our attention.
• It provides evidence that information that is either neutral or not important doesn’t penetrate the block and we have little to no memory of this information when our attention is focused on a different auditory task.