Cognitive Psychology

Aim: To find evidence for sensory memory.

Method: 

• Whole report technique- "How many do you remember?".
  
• Partial report technique- A cue for recall.
• CV- Pps didnt know which row they'd have to recall.

Findings:

• Iconic memory evidence - duration= 1/4sec.

Conclusion:

• Primacy and recency effect show evidence for sensory memory.

Evaluation:

• Lacks ecological validity; experiment doesn'r resemble real life. Recalling rows.
  
• Lab experiment means high level of control over variables.
• Extraneous variable - familiarity of words to pps.

Aim: Find evidence for the duration of the STM.

Method:

• Pps presented with consonant trigrams i.e. CDK, LHY
  
• Recall tested after varying intervals
• Immediate interference task to prevent rehearsal in STM

Findings:

• After 18secs, recall was fewer than 10% trigrams
  
• Evidence of decay when rehearsal is prevented
• Interence may have caused displacement.
• Loss of info could be down to capacity rather than duration

Evaluation:

• Lacks ecological validity
  
• Trigrams are a proactive interface

Aim: To find evidence for encoding in STM.

Method:

• Rapid sequence of 6 random consonants on a screen.
  
• C1: letters were acoustically similar
• C2: letters were acousticallt disimilar
• PPS had to write serial order (Digit-span=7)

Findings:

• Errors in recall- substitutung simialr sounding letters (Acoustic confusion)
  

Conclusion: Encoding in STM is mainly acoustic.

Evaluation:

• Lacks ecological valididty- Sample of students is not representative of whole population

Aim: To find a distinction between STM and LTM.

Method:

• Pps presented with list of words then tested on free recall
  
• C1: recall immediately after presentation
• C2: recall after distractor task

Findings:

• C1: serial position curve
• C2: distractor task disrupoted recency effect
• Counting backwards displaced last letters in STM 

Evaluation:

• Lacks e-v
• Functional dissociation; age, familiarity etc

Aim: To find evidence for encoding in LTM

Method:

• 5 words for each category are presented. Pps immediatley write down serial order.
  
• 4 categories: acoustically similar&disimilar, semantically similar&disimilar
• MODIFICATIONS:
• 10 words per category (exceeds capacity of STM)
• Prevention of rehearsal & list is presented 4 times
• Recall after 20mins

Findings:

• Same results as Conrad
• Semantically similar words= harder to recall

Evaluation:

• Lacks e-v
• Familair words not consonants

Aim: To find evidence for the visuo-spatial sketchpad

Method:

• Pps follow dot of light in cicular motions and visualise either H, F, T or E
  
• Starting at bottom left-hand corner, pps reply 'yes' or 'no' if the lights was at any of the angles at the top or bottom of the letter

Findings:

• Tasks compete for the same limited resources of VSS

Evaluation:

• Highly controlled
• Repeated measures design eliminates individual differences

Aim: Find evidence for phonological loop.

Method:

• Visual presentations of word lists. Brief exposure.
  
• Pps recall in serial order.
• C1: 5 monosyllabic, familiar words. 
• C2: 5 polysyllabic words

Findings:

• 'Word length effect'
  
• Capacity of loop is determined by time taken to say the word

Evaluation:

• Long word=less familiar?
  

Aim: Effects of misleading information of EWT.

Method:

• 45 students shown film of car accident
  
• They were asked leading questions, including a critical one about speed
• The verb was manipulated; 'hit', 'smashed', 'collide', 'bumped', 'contacted'.

Findings:

• Group with 'smashed' said a faster speed
  
• Group with 'contacted' said a slower speed
• People alter their estimates depending on verb used in leading question

Evaluation:

• Not cross-cultural
  
• Independant measures design
• Low in mundane realism; not like real life. In real life, there is an element of surprise.

Aim: To apply the idea of schemas to EWT. (reconstructive memory)

Method:

• Made a list of elements that could occur in shoplifting scenario
  
• People rated the likelihood of the occurance of elements
• Video showed to new pps, 8 different shoplifting incidnets with some of the highest and lowest rated elements
• A week later they had to recall what they saw

Findings:

• Pps are more liekly to recall high probablility events
  
• Pps often recalled high probablility elements that weren't in the video

Evaluation:

• Pilot study
  
• Low in mundane realism
• Unable to obtain informed consent

Aim: Test the effects of age on EWT.

Method:

• 3-8 year olds shown a science experiment
  
• Their parents then read them a story containing elements of demonstration
• Children questions on demonstartion

Findings:

• Children incorporated much of the new information into their original memory
  
• Younger children have poor source monitoring- older children revised their answers

Evaluation:

• Difficult to eliminate extraneous variables
• Young children have to understand and pay attention
• Children less susceptible to investigator effects due to parents involvement