Cognitive Practical - How is memory encoded in STM?

Aim

(AO1)

To investigate whether short term memory encodes acoustically similar or dissimilar words better

Procedure

(AO1)

1. I used an opportunity sample of 10 friends, gained informed consent as participant knew the true aims of the study

2. I used a laptop to present 10 acoustically similar words to 5 participants and 10 acoustically dissimilar words to the other 5. Each word was presented for 3 seconds

3. Participants then had 1 minute to write down the words in the correct order and I recorded scores with a tally.

Findings

(AO1)

The mean of acoustically similar words correctly recalled was 4.2 while acoustically dissimilar words were 6.6

Conclusion

(AO1)

The short term memory encoded acoustically dissimilar words better as the STM encodes acoustically and confuses similar sounding words.

Strength of your cognitive practical

(AO3)

I: I used a standardised procedure

J: All participants were projected their list of 10 words at the same rate (3s per word) and had 1 minute to recall them correctly.

E: This allows my experiment to be replicated and for my results to be compared with similar experiments and verified.

Weakness of your cognitive practical

(AO3)

I: Not all extraneous variables were controlled

J: The participants were tested in different environments e.g outdoors with loud noises. This could’ve affected their concentration and ability to recall the word lists.

E: Therefore my practical lacks internal validity and the results on how the STM encodes may be incorrect.

Improvements

1. Test all in the same quiet environment

2. Next time reduce demand characteristics by screening for psychology students