P1 Key Studies

• What was the aim of Murdock's study?

  To provide evidence for memory stores
• What is the primacy effect in memory recall?

  Words at the beginning are recalled well
• What does the serial position curve illustrate?

  Recall performance based on word position
• How many participants were in Murdock's study?

  16 participants
• What method did Murdock use for word recall?

  Free recall after hearing the words
• How long were participants given to recall the words?

  90 seconds
• What was concluded about the last words recalled?

  They were still in short-term memory
• Why were the first words recalled well?

  They had time for rehearsal
• What is a strength of Murdock's study?

  Conducted in controlled laboratory conditions
• What is a weakness of Murdock's study?

  Word lists are not everyday memory tasks
• What was the aim of Bartlett's study?

  To see if unfamiliar information is altered
• What happened to the story after being passed on ten times?


  It became shorter and altered
• How many words did the story reduce from and to?

  From 330 words to 150 words
• What changes were made to the story details?

  Unfamiliar names changed to familiar ones
• What does Bartlett's study conclude about memory?

  Memory is distorted by beliefs and stereotypes
• What was a weakness of Bartlett's study?

  Participants were all Cambridge English students
• Why is the story considered unusual in Bartlett's study?

  It may not reflect everyday memory processes
• What was the aim of Bruner and Minturn's study?

  To investigate how expectations affect perception
• What did participants draw when expecting a number?

  An open figure like '13'
• What was the test stimulus in Bruner and Minturn's study?

  A broken 'B'
• How many participants were in Bruner and Minturn's study?

  24 student participants
• What does counterbalancing in the study increase?

  Reliability of the findings
• What is a weakness of Bruner and Minturn's study?

  Small sample size limits generalizability
• What was the aim of Gilchrist and Nesberg's study?

  To investigate how motivation affects perception
• What did the experimental group judge about the pictures?

  They judged the pictures as brighter
• How many students participated in Gilchrist and Nesberg's study?

  26 university students
• What was the method used in Gilchrist and Nesberg's study?

  Participants adjusted picture brightness
• What is a weakness of Gilchrist and Nesberg's study?

  Small sample size limits generalizability
• What was the aim of Hughes' study?

  To see if children can see others' viewpoints
• What percentage of children hid the boy doll successfully?

  90%
• What age range did the children in Hughes' study fall into?

  1. 5 to 5 years old
• What was a strength of Hughes' study?

  Supports Piaget's underestimated viewpoint
• What is a weakness of Hughes' study?

  Task may not be familiar to children
• What was the aim of McGarrigle and Donaldson's study?

  To see if children develop conservation skills earlier
• What percentage of children conserved in McGarrigle and Donaldson's study?

  62%
• What was the method used in McGarrigle and Donaldson's study?

  A puppet messed up the counters
• What is a conclusion from McGarrigle and Donaldson's study?

  Children can conserve if changes are accidental
• What is a strength of McGarrigle and Donaldson's study?

  Supports earlier conservation skill development
• What is a weakness of McGarrigle and Donaldson's study?

  Not all children conserved successfully
• What happened in the replication of McGarrigle and Donaldson's study?

  Results for conservation were not as high