An experiment to see if interference affects recall in short-term memory Essay Example for Free

An experiment to see if interference affects recall in short-term memory Essay Each participant must carry out the experiment under the same conditions. This included keeping the setting the same, making sure no extraneous variables such as external noise, can disrupt it. However, because it is an independent groups design there may have been participant variables confounding the results. These are individual differences between the participants; for example, the emotional state of an individual or whether the memory of an individual is better than another. Psychology students may have an advantage over non-psychology students because they already have an insight into the same or similar types of experiments. It is an independent groups design because two separate groups of participants are being tested. One group receives the experimental treatment, which in this case, is the interference task. The other group receives no treatment, acting as a control group. Both groups are tested once and their results are compared. The controls in the experiment that need to be kept the same for each participant is the setting, making sure there is no extraneous variables such as any external noise. The actual objects and time period for looking at and rehearsing the objects with and without interference must be the same. The books used in the interference task should also be the same for each participant. The participants will be debriefed after the experiment and will be asked for their consent before. They are also told that they have the right to withdraw at any time during the experiment. The confidentiality of the experiment is important. The results of the participants are not revealed to anyone. The results obtained are only kept if informed consent is received. Participants The participants chosen for the experiment are in the age range of 16-18 years. The target population is students who attend sixth form. They include psychology and non-psychology students, and they are chosen by opportunity sampling. This sampling was used because it is the most practical in the circumstances. It is a quick and easy way of choosing participants, and this was important for this study because it was carried out in school hours, when students had lessons to go to and therefore students were chosen if they were available at the time. The number of participants chosen was 20 and the ratio of girls to boys was 9:11. The ratio of psychology to non-psychology students was 7:13. Apparatus The apparatus in the experiment includes: Three tables, one with 12 objects on, which include a skull, football boots, board pen, spectacles, fork, mobile phone, can of coke, car keys, screw driver, school tie, watch and a chocolate bar. Opportunity sampling was used to choose these 12 objects found around the school and at home, finding any type of object of similar sizes to fit on a table, suitable to use in a school environment. This type of sampling enabled the objects to be varied and not just from one particular environment, preventing schemas to make recall easier.