Cognitive Practical

Question 1

Rational and aim

Answer 1

Rational = replicating Baddeley (1966a) which found that acoustically similar condition was harder to recall than the acoustically dissimilar condition for the STM
Aim = to investigate whether acoustically dissimilar words will be recalled more successfully than acoustically similar words in the STM

Question 2

Sample

Answer 2

• volunteer sample
• 10 females, 5 males
• all Caucasian
• all 18
• all privately educated in Bristol

Question 3

Hypothesis

Answer 3

There will be significantly more acoustically dissimilar words recalled than acoustically similar words in the STM

Question 4

Procedure

Answer 4

• repeated measures
• list of 10 acoustically similar words were shown for 3 secs
• participants had to recall them in the right order
• process was repeated for acoustically dissimilar condition
• mode median mean range and standard deviation was calculated

Question 5

Methodological strength

Answer 5

Standardised procedures due to the slideshow of 10 for 3 secs for all participants therefore replicable therefore reliable

Question 6

What inferential test did you use to analyse your data?

Answer 6

• wilcoxon process
  1) test of difference for acoustically similar/disimlar words
  2) repeated measures so same group of pps took both conditions
  3) level of measurement so ordinal data used to rank participant scores of how many similar/dissimilar words were recalled

Question 7

Methodological weakness

Answer 7

• 10 female only 5 male
• estrocentric
• not representative of the effect of acoustically encoding to STM to the wider population
• not generalisable

Question 8

How to improve methodological weakness

Answer 8

• get a larger sample with even gendered participants
• e.g. 50 pps, 25 female and 25 male
• to be more representative