Moray - Cognitive Area

Question 1

backround

Answer 1

aim: to test factors that would enable an unattended, dichotically presented message to be noticed

Question 2

method

Answer 2

• labatory experiment
• Study 1: memory of words (DV) from the shadowed prose message, a repeated word list in the rejected message and control words were compares (IV)
• Study 2: instructions were either preceded or not by the particiapnts name IV) and wether or not the participant names (IV) and wether or not the participants heard the instruction (DV)

Question 3

sample / participants

Answer 3

• study 1: number of particiapnts wasnt recorded
• study 2: 12 particiapnts
• study 3: two groups of 14 particiapnts
• all undergraduate or research workers
• males and females

Question 4

results

Answer 4

• study 1: showed none of the content of the rejected message (word list) could be remembered
• Study 2: showed the affective instructions (using participants name) were sometimes heard
• study 3: showed that numbers could not be made important enough to break through the attentional barrier and be notices in the rejected message even when they were exposed

Question 5

conclusions

Answer 5

• directing attention away from the message in one ear blocks the verbal content of that message, ones own name can break through the attentional block
• numbers material cannot be made important enough (using expectations) to break through the attentional barrier

Question 6

procedure

Answer 6

• In experiment 1 a short list of simple words was repeatedly presented to one of the participant’s ears whilst they shadowed a prose message presented to the other ear (the list faded in and out); the list was repeated 35 times. The participant was then asked to recall the content of the rejected message. About 30 seconds later they were given a recognition test using similar material, present in neither the list nor the passage, as a control.
• Experiment 2 was conducted to find out the limits of the efficiency of the attentional block. Participants shadowed ten short passages of light fiction. They were told that their responses would be recorded and they should try to and make as few mistakes as possible. Rejected messages were played in the other ear which were not attended to, Moray wanted to find out of these messages would be heard if it included their name. The order of presentation of the rejected messages was as follows (instructions at the start of the passage/ instruction within the passage
• In experiment 3, participants were required to shadow one of two simultaneous dichotic messages. In some of the messages digits were added towards the end of the message either in both messages, or in one. The position of the numbers in the message and whether they were relative to each other in the two messages varied; controls with no numbers were also randomly inserted. One group was told they’d be asked questions about the content of the shadowed message at the end. The other group had to remember as many numbers as they could

Question 7

strengths and weaknesses of dieeerent research methods and techniques

Answer 7

• labator experiment
  strength: controls extransous varibles which increases validity
  weakness: demand characteristcs

Question 8

strengths and weaknesses of differne types of data

Answer 8

• quantatative data
  positive: easy to compares and analyse
  negative: no qualatatove data so dosent include opinons and comments

Question 9

ethical considerations

Answer 9

• high ecological validity
• represents everyday situation of trying to follow one source of information such as conversation while ignoring distracting noises, chatter and dialogue

Question 10

relaibility

Answer 10

• all wore headphones which increases reliability
• standardised procedure - can be generelised
• lowered reliability - not all participants heard “changed ears”

Question 11

sampling bias

Answer 11

• included males and females (need to include and men and women have a difference in selective attention)

Question 12

ethnocentric

Answer 12

• all students
• different languages alter the way in which ear they listen