Page 1: Memory and Perception Studies
Murdock's "Serial Position Curve" (1962)
This study aimed to provide evidence for separate short-term and long-term memory stores in the multi-store model of memory.
The method involved a laboratory experiment with 16 participants who were psychology students. They were presented with 20 words at a rate of one per minute and asked to recall them over 90 seconds. This was repeated 80 times over several days with different words.
Results showed a primacy effect for the first words and a recency effect for the last words, with poorer recall for words in the middle of the list. This led to the drawing of the serial position curve.
Highlight: The study supports the multi-store model of memory, suggesting separate stores for short-term and long-term memory.
Vocabulary: Primacy effect refers to better recall of items at the beginning of a list, while recency effect refers to better recall of items at the end of a list.
Evaluation points include the study's lack of ecological validity and potential bias due to the use of psychology students as participants.
Bartlett's "War of the Ghosts" (1932)
This study investigated how unfamiliar information is altered in memory to make more sense, testing Bartlett's theory of reconstructive memory.
The method was a laboratory study using Cambridge students. Participants read a Native American folk tale twice, then retold it to another person after 15 minutes. Changes to the story were recorded.
Results showed that the story became shorter, with omissions (e.g., ghosts) and changes to details and the order of events.
Definition: Reconstructive memory is the theory that memory recall involves the active reconstruction of past events based on existing knowledge and beliefs.
The study concluded that memory is not an exact copy of what we hear and is influenced by beliefs and stereotypes. It has high ecological validity but may lack representativeness due to the use of Cambridge University students.
Gilchrist & Nesberg's "Need & Perceptual Change" (1952)
This study examined how motivation affects perception. It involved 26 university student volunteers who went without food for 20 hours. Participants were randomly allocated to control and hungry groups, then shown pictures of food and asked to adjust the brightness.
Results showed that the hungry group perceived the food images as brighter over time, while the control group showed little difference.
Example: This study demonstrates how our physiological needs (in this case, hunger) can influence our perception of stimuli related to those needs.
The study concluded that motivation affects perception. It had high ecological validity but a small sample size, potentially limiting its representativeness.