Do processing levels effects number of words remembered

Memory is about treating immense sum of information. The information is stored in assorted signifiers. Memory involves non merely taking in of information, but besides the storing of it and retrieval of it when it is required. There are many different sorts of memory, which suggests that for each genre of memory there is a particular storage system for it. Psychologists believe that the procedure of memory involves three phases: encryption, storage and retrieval. For information to be remembered it must travel through all of the phases. First of all the information must be put into some signifier where it can be encoded visually ( as images ) , acoustically ( as sounds ) or semantically ( as significances ) . Second the encoded information must be stored or held in memory until it is needed. Third, the stored information must be available to be retrieved from memory when required.

Research into the construction of the memory, and how information is passed from short term ( STM ) to long-run memory ( LTM ) , includes that suggested by Atkinson and Shiffrin ( 1968 ) . They stated that there are three memory shops, the sensory, STM and LTM shops. This was called the Multi-store Model.

However, there were some jobs with this theoretical account. The theoretical account suggests that all information that is transferred from the STM to LTM shop is done by active dry run. In malice of this, people are invariably hive awaying information into the LTM shop without actively practising it.

Craik and Lockhart ( 1972 ) put frontward an alternate theory to the Multi-store Model. This was the Levels of Processing theory. This suggested that changeless dry run was non necessary for hive awaying information in the LTM shop. The Levels of Processing Model proposes that the degree at which information is processed determines which store it will travel into. If information is profoundly processed, i.e. , the information is processed semantically, it will be more easy remembered. Equally, information that is processed shallowly, i.e. , acoustically or visually, will be easy forgotten.

This theoretical account was tested in a survey by Craik and Tulving ( 1975 ) . The thought was that if information has more significance, it will be more unforgettable, and so would be stored for longer.

Participants were shown a list of words, and so asked inquiries about each of them. The inquiries came in three classs: instance ( to excite ocular processing ) , rhyme ( for acoustic processing ) , and sentence ( to motivate semantic processing ) . For illustration, the inquiry, ‘Is the word in lower instance? ‘ would arouse ocular processing, the inquiry, ‘Does the word rime with lock? ‘ would excite acoustic processing, and ‘Is the word a type of athletics? ‘ is an illustration of a word that would motivate semantic processing.

Craik and Tulving found that words that were semantically processed words were those best recalled followed by those recalled acoustically. Besides, the knowing scholars by and large recalled more than the incidental scholars, nevertheless both groups remembered more semantically processed words than any others. Therefore the hypothesis of this experiment was that the deeper processed words will bring forth higher rate of keeping.

Method:

Opportunity sampling was used as a method to carry on the experiment. In entire 89 participants took portion, all were 1st old ages psychology pupils from university of Bradford and were all of assorted gender.

Design:

As the experiment was conducted in a laboratory status so it was to a greater extent controlled. The design used was repeated steps because the same participants were asked to make all parts of the experiments. Extraneous variables were controlled by apportioning different cells to each participant to forestall intervention.

Materials:

Materials were kept at their lower limit. Each Participant was allocated a room with a computing machine and a chair to sit and work on. The package used to carry on the experiment was e-prime programme ; this was used to expose the inquiries ( transcript of inquiries in appendix ) . The briefing sheet that had direction on how to carry on experiment and the snapshots of the existent experiment was provided in each cell. ( See appendix )

Procedure:

The participants were told that they were traveling to be tested in an experiment that tests memory and includes replying several inquiries. They all were told to get the first available room which had computing machine in for them to carry on the experiment. The counsel sheet was provided to assist them throughout the experiment. It had clear direction that participants have to reply 60 inquiries by pressing ‘1 ‘ for yes and ‘2 ‘ for no on the keyboard. These inquiries were divided into 3 classs ; the inquiry related to placing the construction of the words, the inquiries to place if the words rhymed with each other and the last class was to suit the right words into the sentences. Each slide was displayed for 3 seconds.

The 2nd portion of the experiment was to look at 120 words and attempt and remember if those words were present in the 1st portion of the experiment. One-half of the words were really taken from the 1st portion of the experiment while the other half were presented to simply deflect the participant. Once they conducted the experiment they were asked to go forth.

Ethical guidelines were kept into consideration at all times, by keeping the confidentiality by non adverting participant ‘s names. Informed consent was gained and the participants were debriefed afterwards and there was no psychological hurt or injury involved.

However misrepresentation was involved as they were non told the true nature of the experiment before carry oning it. There was no right to retreat the experiment excessively.

Consequences

A tabular array demoing the average tonss and standard divergence for the different types of inquiries

Type of words recognised

Mean

Standard Deviation

Structure words

45.34

17.98

Rhyming words

61.63

16.6

Sentence words

67.53

20.06

The consequences tell us that the keeping rate for the sentence word was higher hence turn outing that the deeply processed words are more likely to be remembered than that or shoal and intercede processed words.

First t-test for ‘sentence ‘ and ‘rhyming ‘ words is t ( 88 ) =3.51, p= & lt ; 0.01

It is important because it shows that the sentence words have higher degree of treating than riming words.

Second t-test for ‘rhyming ‘ and ‘structure ‘ words is t ( 88 ) = 8.21, p= & lt ; 0.01

This is besides proven to be important and shows that the keeping rate for riming words is higher so the structured words.

Third t-test for ‘sentence ‘ and ‘structure ; words is t ( 88 ) = 8.91, p=0.01

The structured words have proven to hold the lowest keeping rate. From these consequences we can state that the sentence words were profoundly processed.

Therefore the consequences are important.

Discussion:

Harmonizing to the consequences gained fro the experiment it can be clearly seen that words that make more sense or are meaningful are good remembered. Hence turn outing carik and tulving ‘s experiment to be right and hence dependable, as they suggest that the rate of keeping is higher when the words are profoundly processed, instead than sallow or intercede processing.

As suggested by Craik and Lockhart ( 1972, cited by Baddeley, 2002:47 ) the words that are processed profoundly produce long permanent consequences. This is because when encoding takes topographic point when we start to do sense of things and interpreter its significance.

As for the solution for the low keeping of structured words, dry runs can be done to retrieve them more ( Cardwell et al 2003 )

Research besides suggests that with clip human memory starts to pulverize, hence keeping rate is non at its extremum. ( Carik and Mcdowd 1987 ) .

This experiment on the whole has proven to be truly successful in turn outing that keeping rate is higher when procedure profoundly. There are many strong points to this experiment i.e. apportioning separate cells lead to no intervention. Therefore the information collected would be dependable and right.

However, this experiment had some missing which might hold affected the consequences. For illustration there was a excessively short interval given between each slide therefore the participants would hold non read at the inquiry decently and merely gave the reply.

The experiments had 60 tests hence was really long ; the participants would hold got bored and would hold merely pressed any cardinal nigh merely to complete the experiment. This experiment besides lacks ecological cogency as this was done as a research lab experiment and was non done in natural scenes.

However to better this experiment, the experiment can be made short and easy to make. The interval between the slides could be increased to acquire more accurate consequences. This experiment can be carried out in the same manner, but with different age groups. This would see how this survey, along with the Levels of Processing theory, compares with a different mark population, and whether age makes a difference on memory map this will increase the dependability and cogency.

Mentions:

Baine, D. , 1986. Memory and Instruction. U.S. Englewood Cliffs New Jersey: Educational Technology Publications Inc.

Tulving, E. ( 1983 ) . Elementss of episodic memory. New York: Oxford University Press.

Craik, F.I. , & A ; Lockhart, R.S. ( 1972 ) . Levels of processing: A model for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11, 671-684.

Craik, F.I. , & A ; Tulving, E. ( 1975 ) . Depth of processing and the keeping of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 104 ( 3 ) , 268-294.

Lewandowsky, S. & A ; Hockley, W.E. ( 1987 ) . Does charm necessitate deepness? Similarity and levels-of-processing effects in cued callback. Journal Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 13 ( 3 ) , 443-455.

Willingham, D.T. ( 2004 ) . Cognition: The Thinking Animal. ( 2ndA Ed. ) . Pearson: Prentice Hall.

Appendix 1:

Part 1 – Engagement

In today ‘s lab you will be taking portion in a authoritative experiment. It has been modified from the original, but its purposes are the same. The information collected will organize the footing for this faculty ‘s coursework in which you are required to compose up a lab study.

Briefing

Once you are sitting at the computing machine, you should see that e-prime has already been opened. You should see the following on your proctor, if you do non, so delight inquire for aid:

Along the top of the unfastened window you will see a row of buttons. You should snap on the button with the image of the running individual.

When you click on this button the plan will get down and you will see the undermentioned duologue box:

In this box you should come in your participant figure. This will be your day of the month of birth, excepting the twelvemonth, entered as four figures ( DDMM ) . So, if you were born on the 28th of January, your participant figure will be 2801. Or, if you were born on the 3rd of June, your participant figure will be 0306. When you have done this, chink on the OK button, and you will see the undermentioned duologue box:

Click on the Yes button. You should so see the following screen:

But DO NOT press the infinite saloon until you have read the undermentioned instructions:

There are two parts to this experiment. In this first portion there will be a sum of 60 tests. There will be three different types of test ( 20 of each type ) which will be indiscriminately presented. Each test will show you with a inquiry, followed ( on the following screen ) by a word about which you should reply the inquiry. A inquiry will look for 3 seconds, for illustration:

It will so be replaced by a screen incorporating the word and the response options. For illustration:

In this instance, the word “ soup ” does hold four letters, so you would press “ 1 ” for “ yes ” .

There are two other types of inquiry, but these have extra information which allows you to reply the inquiry. For illustration:

In this instance, if the word soup appeared on the following screen, you would press “ 2 ” for “ no ” , as dallier does non rime with soup.

The concluding type of inquiry is shown below:

In this instance, you should press 1 ( for yes ) or 2 ( for no ) , depending on whether you thought the undermentioned word fitted into the sentence.

Once you have completed the 60 tests, a farther set of instructions will look on the screen, and you should follow these to finish the 2nd portion of the experiment.

If you do non understand these instructions please inquire. When you have completed the experiment do non touch the computing machine. Return to the chief room.