Grant et al

Aim

To investigate context depenent memory effects on both recall and recognation in students

Research method

Lab experiment

IV

Study context - noisy or silent
Test context - noisy or silent

DV

Results of recall test (short answer questions) and recognition test (multiple choice question)

Experimental design

Independent measures

Test conditions

Matching or mismatching - noisy or silent

How was the sample obtained?

8 psychology students recruited 5 participants
Opportunity sampling

Sample

39 participants
17 female - 23 male
Aged between 17-56

The test

Recall - 10 short answer questions
Recognition - 16 multiple choice questions
Headphones were worn with the same or mismatching noise

The article

Told to read the article once - two pages long about psychoiminology
Wore headphones with either cafeteria background noise or silence

The break

Between the test and study there was a 2 minute break without headphones

Results of recall test
Silent test
Silent study

6.7 out of 10

Results of recall test
Silent test
Noisy study

5.4 out of 10

Results of recall test
Noisy test
Silent study

4.6 out of 10

Results of recall test
Noisy test
Noisy study

6.2 out of 10

Results of recognition
Silent-Silent
Noisy-Noisy

14.3 out of 16

Results of recognition
Silent-Noisy
Noisy-Silent

12.7 out of 16

Type of data collected

Quantitive

Conclusions

- students should learn in a similar environment to the environment that they will be tested in

Ethical guidelines upheld

Right to withdraw
Informed consent
Confidentiality
Debrief
Protection from harm
Deception

Internal reliability

Highly controlled lab conditions
Meets criteria for scientific research to be replicable
All apparatus the same
Standardised procedure

External reliability

Consistent effect found- results from the matching experiments always higher than mismatching conditions

Internal validity

Lots of experimental controls to ensure that the study was not confounded by extraneous variables

External validity

Low ecological validity as students in real life would have more time to study

Ethnocentrism

Is ethnocentric because only carried out in America however everyone has the same brain which cognitive processes depend on

Link to cognitive area

Investigated memory which is a cognitive process
Specifically looked at context dependency on memory

Link to the key theme of memory

Memory was improved by studying and being tested in matching environment for both recall and recognition

Link to usefulness of research

Could change study conditions to help improve performance in exams

Link to psychology as a science

Controlled lab experiment so replicable, objective and falsifiable
Clear IV and DV

Link to individual - situational

Performance in exams can be effected by situational factors rather than innate ability