Classic Study: Baddeley (1966) Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Classic Study: Baddeley (1966) Deck (17)
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1
Q

What was the aim of Baddeley’s study?

A
  • To investigate whether LTM encodes acoustically or semantically
  • To investigate if acoustically similar words would lead to more impairment in the LTM than semantically similar
2
Q

Who were used in the sample?

A
  • 72 males and females

- From ‘Applied Psychology Research Unit’ in Cambridge

3
Q

What type of method was used?

A

Lab

4
Q

What did ‘Condition A’ entail?

A

Ppts learned a list of 10 acoustically similar words

e.g. man, can

5
Q

What did ‘Condition B’ entail?

A

Ppts learned a list of 10 acoustically dissimilar words

e.g. pit, few

6
Q

What did ‘Condition C’ entail?

A

Ppts learned a list 10 semantically similar words

e.g. large, big

7
Q

What did ‘Condition D’ entail?

A

Ppts learned a list of 10 semantically dissimilar words

e.g. good, hot

8
Q

Briefly describe the procedure of this classic study.

A
  • Experiment 3
  • Condition A involved 10 acoustically similar words (e.g. man, can)
  • Condition B involved 10 acoustically dissimilar words (e.g. pit, few)
  • Condition C involved 10 semantically similar words (e.g. large, big)
  • Condition B involved 10 semantically dissimilar words (e.g. good, hot)
  • Each list of 10 words were presented on a projector in a set order, one word every 3 seconds
  • Afterwards the 72 ppts from the ‘Applied Psychology Research Unit’ at Cambridge were asked to complete 6 tasks involving memory for digits to prevent rehearsal
  • They were then given 1 min to recall the words in order
  • This was repeated over 4 trials
  • After the 4 trials the groups were given a 15 minute interference task involving copying 8 digit sequences
  • Ppts were then given a surprise retest on the word sequence of their condition
9
Q

What was the IV and DV?

A
IV = Acoustically/semantically similar/dissimilar word lists
DV = Number of words recalled in the correct order
10
Q

Why did it get repeated over 4 trials?

A

To make sure the learned words were in the ppts’ LTM by trials 3 and 4.

11
Q

What were the results of Baddeley’s study?

A
  • Around 40% of people recalled acoustically similar words correctly in trial 2 compared to 60% for acoustically dissimilar words
  • Around 50% of semantically similar words were recalled in trial 4 compared to 85% of semantically dissimilar which was a significant difference
  • None of the conditions showed any significant further forgetting between trial 4 and the retest
12
Q

Describe the conclusion of this experiment.

A
  • Ppts found it harder to recall acoustic similarity
  • This shows that STM is largely acoustic as similar words were harder to encode to LTM
  • Ppts found it harder to recall semantically similar words
  • This shows that encoding in LTM is largely semantic
  • Therefore this study demonstrates how STM and LTM are affected differently by different types of encoding
13
Q

Evaluate the generalisablity using a high and low point.

A

P - High
E - We assume that memory is universal
E - Therefore the results and conclusions should be true for all individuals
P - Low
E - Used a sample of 72 student volunteers from Britain
E - Therefore ethnocentric as not representative of difference in word structure in other countries and not representative to people with brain damage may have affected memory

14
Q

Evaluate the reliability using 2 high points.

A

P - High
E - Follows a standardised procedure (e.g. one word every 3 seconds with controls of the same order of word for ppts in the same condition)
E - Easy to replicate and test for consistency
P - High
E - Uses quantitative data of how many words remembered in the different word lists of acoustic and semantic
E - This means that the data is easier to compare, is objective and scientific

15
Q

Are there any applications?

A

P - Yes
E - Can be used to inform students on revision techniques as the study suggests that LTM encodes semantically
E - Therefore the advice to students is to use methods such as mindmaps and revision cards that create semantic links instead of re-reading notes as the information will more likely encode in LTM if semantic

16
Q

Evaluate the validity using a high and low point.

A

P - High internal
E - Controlled order of words on the list and how long they appeared for with the same word lists for each person in that condition
E - Therefore cause and effect can be established between word list similarity being the only factor responsible for memory impairment
P - Low task
E - Used a list of 10 words for each condition that they had to recall a total of 5 times
E - This doesn’t reflect memory in real life as we don’t often recite word lists and instead remember things like putting the bins out

17
Q

Evaluate an ethical issue.

A

P - Unethical
E - Ppts were unaware of the surprise trial at the end
E - Informed consent of this was not given and so may cause psychological distress