Monday 12 March 2012

Godden and Baddeley

Aim: To investigate whether we recall information better in our natural environment than an unnatural environment.

Method: 18participants were split into four groups and all participants took part in all conditions. The participants took part in one condition per day:
1. Learn on land and recall on land (dry/dry)
2. Learn under water and recall underwater  (wet/wet)
3. Learn on land and recall underwater (dry/wet)
4. Learn under water and recall on land (wet/dry)

The participants were asked to recall the words when in the different conditions.

Results: The participants were able to recall the words more correctly when in the same condition in which they learnt them in.

Conclusion: We remember things better when we're in the same context in which we learnt them in.

Amnesia

There are two types of amnesia, retrograde and antrograde.
Retrograde amnesia is the type of amnesia where someone is unable to recall events which happened before the amnesia occurred. A person with retrograde amnesia will be able to remember everything after the accident but will not remember anything before.
 Antrograde amnesia is the type of amnesia where the person can remember everything before the accident but cannot remember anything which happens after the accident for a long period of time. People with antrograde amnesia are unable to create new memories.

Peterson and Peterson

Aim: To investigate the time that information stays in our STM without rehearsal.

Method: Participants were given groups of letters such as JKF. They were then asked to count backwards in threes, so that rehearsing was not possible, then they asked to give the combination of letters.

Results: After 18seconds of counting back in threes the letters could not be recalled.

Conclusion: Our short term memory can hold information for 18seconds without rehearsal.

Encoding, Storage, Retrieval (Also deep/shallow processing)

Encoding: How we perceive and interpret information. There are many different ways of encoding information such as rehearsing or chunking. Encoding can happen with two different types of processing; deep or shallow. If shallow processed information will not be as detailed. If deep processed information will be detailed and precise.
Storage: The ability to obtain information and keep it over time.
Retrieval: Being able to access the information when it is needed