Grant et al

• What is the background?

  • Looked at context-dependant memory -> able to recall info best if we return to the same context where we learnt the info in the first place.
  • Suggested when a memory is first created features of the environment are encoded with it

  
  

  • Divers learnt list of words on land and underwater - recalled the words in the same or opposite environment - results showed list learned in same environment was recalled better in same enivronment
• Who was Grants sample?

  -8 student reseachers -> recruited 5 aquitenaces to take part each

  -Sample ranged from 17-56 years old

  -17F 23M

  
  

  -Participants placed in 1/4 conidtions (10 per condition) -> all tested individually by student-researcher who recruited them to take part

  
  

  -Only 39 participants data was analysed because 1 had atypically low scores
• What was Stage 1? (The Procedure)

  Learning

  
  

  • participants read a short, two-sided article of psychoimmunology -> chosen by experimenter because they thought participants would find it interesting and understandable

  
  

  2 conditions participants read article in:

  
  

  • Noise (via headphones) = uni lunchtime cafe noise
  • Silence (wearing headphones)

  
  

  Had a 2 minute break after
• What is stage 2? (the procedure)

  Testing

  
  

  -After break, participants given two sets of questions to answer about context of the article they read.

  
  

  -Participants took test in 1/2conditions:

  
  

  Noise (the same background noise the stage 1 via headphones)

  Silence (Wearing headphones)

  
  

  In both conditions, participants took the same tests in the same order:

  
  

  1. Recal test (10 short--answer questions)

  2.Recognition test (16 multiple-choice questions)
• What were the findings?

  Main results from the recall (short-answer questions out of 10):

  
  

  -Test taken in silence + Article read in silence = 6.7

  -Test taken in silence + Article read with noise = 5.4

  
  

  -Test taken with noise + Article read in silence = 4.6

  -Test taken with noise + Article read with noise = 6.2

  
  

  
  

  Main results from recognition test (multiple choice questions out of 16):

  
  

  -Test taken in silence + article read in silence = 14.3

  -Test taken in silence + Article read with noise - 12.7

  
  

  -Test taken with noise + article read in silence = 12.7

  -Test taken with noise + article read with noise = 14.3

  
  

  
  

  Suggests participants performed best in matching conditions etc Noise conditions + Noise and silence _ silence = gives evidence for context-dependent memory
• Is the study easily replicable? (internal reliability)

  Yes, controlled -> carried out in highly controlled lab environment

  
  

  Easy to recreate uni background noise, text, tests, headphones etc
• Is the study ecologically valid?

  Yes -> Reading article and answering questions, similar to classroom environment

  -No -> Wasn't conducted in a lesson, wore headphones with artificial background noise while reading article
• Is the study ethnocentric

  No -> Part of cognitive process (reconstructive memory)

  
  

  Yes -> Conducted in America + no cross-cultural research to confirm findings can be universal = don't know if education in different cultures could affect.
• How does Grant et al link to usefulness in terms of how it can help students?

  It's better to work in matching conditions than opposite etc revising for exam (done in silence) revise in silence
• How does the study link to the individual-situation debate?

  Situational -> students in exams may be affected by situational factors etc where they revise rather than their INDIVIDUAL factors etc innate ability.
• What are the similarities between Loftus and Palmer and Grant?

  Both contained quantitative data

  
  

  -Grant = Gained data from how they scored on the test

  -Loftus and Palmer - They gained quantitative data through estimated speed

  
  

  Both reductionist (factor that influences memory)

  
  

  -Grant = Looked at how learning content in different conditions affects memory

  -Loftus and Palmer = Used leading questions to see if they'd affect reconstructive memory
• What are the differences between Loftus and Palmer and Grant?

  The type of sample

  
  

  -Loftus and Palmer = Used students from Washington State University

  -Grant = Used students as the experimenters + mix of participants -> not all students

  
  

  What the studies investigated

  
  

  -Loftus and Palmer = Effect of leading questions on reconstructive memory

  -Grant = Context-dependant memory