Technology - psychology

Schaffer: Pros? EV

high eco val —> it was RW emotionally significant event, participants were recalling genuine experiences rather than reacting to artificial stimuli in a lab, thus their responses likely mirror how memory functions in real life especially for highly emotional events

Schaffer: Pro: Longi

Longitudinal design studies consistency over time, central to FBM research as memory is prone to distortions and reconstructions over time

Schaffer: Pros: Ind: int val

Independent blind coding, minimizes researcher bias —> multiple researchers collected the data and completed the analysis —→ increasing the interpretability of the findings and strengthening the internal validity.

Schaffer: Cons: Samp

Sample bias because only 38 participants —> limiting generalizability across different ages and cultures of those who experienced the event 

Schaffer: Cons: Measurement = const. val

The measurement of “emotional vividness” was indirect as there is no created method to verify participants internal experiences thus leading to low construct validity 

Schaffer: Cons: Exposure = int val

The exposure to media was different was ultimately different for each participant, several variables such as what shots were displayed on the news, how graphic the images were and if the footage was audible, could not have been controlled with these two conditions and all can influence recall over time, thus leading to decreased internal validity. 

B: Pros: replicated 

study has been replicated successfully several times strengthening its reliability and demonstrating the effect of video games on different samples and settings (cultural)

B: Pro: Control = int val

use of a control group allowed for specific isolation on the impact of action gaming on visual attention, increasing the internal validity

B: Pros: True exp

it was a true experiment with random allocation allowing the IV: type of game and DV: visual attention to be measured under high control conditions, allowing a clear cause and effect relationship to be deduced

B: Cons: LT study

Not a longitudinal study, so it does not reflect if these results remain after the gaming period ends. This reduces its applicability for understanding the long-term cognitive benefits of action video games, as Bavelier et al. only measured short-term effects up to 50 hours.

B: Cons: Sample

there was a sample bias as participants had an average age of 26 years, which could impact reaction times, as cognitive and motor responses are known to vary with age, this may limit the generalizability of the results to younger or older populations

B: Cons: Dot: Const. val

the dot motion task measures basic decision making speed, however decision making speed in more complex RW settings is multifaceted and is not fully captured by this paradigm leading to low construct validity

Storm: Pros: Lab

high internal validity as it was conducted in a controlled laboratory setting, allowing researchers to control extraneous variables such as distractions, timing, and task instructions. This ensures that differences in performance can be more confidently attributed to the effects of video game experience rather than external factors.

Storm: Pros: ½ eco val

study had high ecological validity to some extent because the experiment involved participants using the internet (Google) to search for information, which reflects a realistic and common behavior in modern society. This mirrors how individuals frequently rely on online sources as external memory aids, making the study relevant to real-world cognitive functioning.

Storm: Pros: Complement sparrow 

Another strength of the study is that its findings complement Sparrow et al. (2011), which also investigated the “Google effect” on memory. While Sparrow et al. focused on the long-term tendency to offload information to external sources, Storm et al. demonstrated that this effect also occurs in the short term, as participants who used the internet were less likely to recall information internally.

Storm: Cons: ½ eco val

as mentioned before, ecological validity was only high to a certain extent because it is a limitation as well. This is because use of trivia facts does not reflect the personal relevance or emotional significance of information typically encountered in daily life. People tend to invest greater cognitive effort in recalling personally meaningful information, so the findings may not generalize to memory processes involving more personally resonant material.

Storm: Cons: sample bias

sample was limited to 60 undergrad students and reducing the generalizability to broader populations, limiting the applicability of the findings.

Storm: Cons: Freq of reliance 

study measures the frequency of reliance on google but does not establish if this reliance results in worse long term memory performance outside the lab setting.

Ahern: Pros: Sample

study had a large sample of 1008 participants making results more statically reliable reducing the impact of outliers and anomalies, strengthening the internal validity of the study

Ahern: Pros: Eco val.

it was a RW emotionally charged highly emotional event, thus the responses were naturally occurring rather than induce in a lab, making the findings more reflective of real life memory processes (specifically emotionally charged events) this increases the study’s relevance today.

Ahern: Pros:  replaying of images 

this study also sheds insight on the effects of excessive replaying of images, and the potential psychological consequences on individuals.

Ahern: Cons: correlational design

the study has a correlational design as PTSD cannot be attributed to solely image exposure and other confounding variables such as personal loss and difference in support systems can explain the development of it.

Ahern: Cons: Replicability

study is not ethically replicable, meaning the findings cannot be tested or confirmed via repetition, limiting the reliability of the results.

Ahern: Cons: retrospective 

data was collected through retrospective self surveys, which risks memory distortion and exaggeration (potential demand characteristics) thus lowering the internal validity of the study.