grant

grant background

EC effects - studies have shown that recall is better when pptts are in the same environment during recall as they were when learning occurred. suggests environment is a cue to recall memory.

grant aim

to test the effect of noise as a source of context on the studying and retrieval of meaningful material in an academic context.

grant design

IMD

grant sample

39 ppts ages 17-56. eight psych students found acquantaces who would be the sample. so the first 8 were opportunity sample, the rest was a snowball sample.

grant procedure

• 4 conditions (both silent, study silent test noisy, study noisy test silent, and both noisy)

• background noise was a tape recorded in university cafeteria at lunch time

• headphones worn by all ppts

• study article of psychoimmunology

• after a 2 min break ppts were asked to answer to tests, short answer first, then multiple choice.

grant results

• performance was significantly better if the contexts matched than if they didnt.

• no significant differences between noisy and silent conditions

grant conclusions

• noise does not affect capacity to study

• context-dependence affected retrieval suggests that students should revise in quiet surroundings as their tests will often be held in silence.