1. Unit 1: The Exam! 21/05/2014 Cognitive Experiments Social Surveys
The exam is 1 hour 20 minutes long and you will have to answer three types of question.
This unit is 40% of your total AS psychology and the paper is marked out of 60.
There are three compulsory sections.
Cognitive
Experiments
Social
Surveys
There are three parts to the Unit 1 exam:
Multiple choice questions – read them carefully and make sure you read how many responses you have to give. [15 minutes]
Short answer / stimulus response. Answer fully. [40 minutes]
Extended writing question [25 minutes]

2. Study or Theory?
Whats the difference

3. Study or Theory? STUDY (APRC / GRAVE) THEORY
A study is any exercise where data is collected and analysed. This involves a researcher conducting an experiment of any type. It will have an aim, procedure, results and conclusion. Studies Craik and Tulvin (1975), Godden & Baddely (1975),
A theory is an explanation for a psychological phenomenon. Following a theory researchers will conduct studies in an attempt to support the theory and provide evidence for it. Theories MSM, LoP, Trace Decay, Cue-Dependency, Interference theory

4. What does APRC stand for?

5. APRC: Describing a STUDY
Aim – what did the psychologist want to do? Procedure – what did they do? Who did they do it to? Experimental design? Sampling method? Apparatus? Results – what did they find (raw data)? Conclusions – so what? What does it mean?

6. What does GRAVE stand for?

7. GRAVE: Evaluating a STUDY
Generalisability - can the findings be applied to the general population? Think about the sample, methods used & confounding variables.
Reliability - can the procedure be replicated and are the findings consistent?
Applications - do the findings have practical value? Think: So what?
Validity - did the study test what it set out to? Can the findings be applied to everyday life (ecological validity)? Population validity (sampling).
Ethics - with reference to the BPS ethical guidelines, how ethical was the study?

8. Edexcel Psychology: Unit 1
Cognitive Psychology

9. ASSUMPTION1: Information Processing
Definition: The processing by which information is received by the senses, analysed and responded to. This flow of information is described using the terms input, process and output.
Example:

10. Information Processing
INPUT
INFO. RECEIVED BY SENSES
PROCESSING
INFO. ANALYSED
OUTPUT
INFO. RESPONDED TO
Decision
making
Memory

11. ASSUMPTION 2: Computer Analogy
The human mind works in a similar way to a computer in terms of information processing.
INPUTS information from the senses;
PROCESSES information in the form of thinking, memory and language;
OUTPUTS information in the form of decision making, speech and action.

13. ASSUMPTON 3: Active
Humans actively organise and manipulate information from the environment. Cognitive or mental processes mediate between stimulus and response.
Active processing refers to sets of procedures in which a learner acts on instructional inputs to generate, re-organise, self-explain, or otherwise go beyond the encoding of material.

14. Evaluation of Cognitive Approach
Strengths
Adopts scientific procedures to develop and test theories.
Uses experimental techniques.
Models simplify cognitive processes.
Allows us to understand mental process that are not directly observable.
Weaknesses
Tends to ignore biology and genetic influence also ignores individual differences.
Provides a mechanistic view of human behaviour.
Can such a scientific approach really tell us about how we think, feel and behave? (Humanistic psychology).

15. Cognitive Psychology Define memory, forgetting, storage & retrieval.
Describe & Evaluate MSM Theory
Describe & Evaluate LoP theory
Describe & Evaluate Cue Dependent Theory
Describe & Evaluate Trace Decay Theory
Studies in Detail
Godden & Baddeley (1975)
Craik & Tulvin (1975)
Key Issue
Eye witness testimony
Cognitive Interview

16. Memory & Forgetting… The same thing?
The retention and recall of previous experience.
Encoding -> Storage -> Retrieval
Forgetting:
Not been able to remember a fact or event because the memory trace is unavailable or inaccessible.

17. All 3 processes depend upon one another; they are interdependent.
Failure at any of these 3 stages can lead to forgetting.
Memory involves three main
Processes:
ENCODING
STORAGE
RETRIEVAL
The process of changing sensory input into a memory trace so that it can be stored.
The process of maintaining
a record of the memory trace so that it can be retrieved in the future.
The process of accessing and
recovering stored information so that it can be recalled. 17

18. Multi-Store Model [Theory]

20. AO2 Evaluation of Atkinson & Shiffrin’s Multi-store Model of Memory
Lot’s of evidence supporting STM and LTM being separate stores.
Problems with concept of STM:
- FK shows that semantic as well as acoustic encoding is used.
- First-in-first out displacement loss disproved.
- Not a single system- working memory with separate subsystems for visual & spatial and verbal information.
X HM learning new skills shows LTM not a single system- separate episodic, semantic and procedural stores.
X Rehearsal does not completely explain transfer to LTM.
X Primacy-recency effect equally well explained by LOP framework.
X Supporting studies use artificial tasks therefore evidence low in ecological validity.
X ‘Capacity’ not well defined; not clear whether it refers to storage or processing.
X An additional criticism of the MSM is that it does not take into account the strategies (other than maintenance rehearsal) used to remember information.

21. Craik and Lockhart’s Levels of Processing (1972) [Theory]
Proposed as an alternative to the PROCESSES involved in storing a memory suggested by the MSM.
They suggested that the likelihood of remembering a piece of information depends on how we process it.
In this way, memory is a by-product of the information processing that occurs when attending to information.

22. Levels of Processing Structural Shallow Phonetic Semantic Deep
What does the word look like?
Is the word in capital letters?
Phonetic
What does the word sound like?
Does the word rhyme with …?
Semantic Deep
What does the word mean?
Does the word fit in this sentence?

23. Evaluation of LoP (AO2)
Evidence to support- Craik & Tulving (65% sem, 37% p, 17% st). This is incidental rather than intentional learning so ecologically valid.
Brain scanning studies show more activity when semantic processing occurring.
Improvement on MSM
Elaborative rather than maintenance rehearsal;
Shows complexity of encoding process.
Useful everyday applications- education.
X Confounding variables to depth; time, effort, distinctiveness.
X Semantic does not always = better
X Circular argument
X Focuses on processes not stores

24. Craik and Tulvin (1975) [Study]
Aim The aim was to test whether words that were processed for their meaning would be better remembered than words that were processed for information about their appearance or sound. Procedure Laboratory experiment- the IV (depth of processing) was manipulated and there was a high level or experimental control in an artificial situation. Repeated Measures- all participants participated in all three conditions: Structural processing, phonetic processing & semantic processing.

25. Craik and Tulvin (1975) [Study]
Participants did not initially know that it was a memory test and thought they just had to answer questions on a list of words. In reality, different types of questions were making participants use different levels of processing structural, phonetic and semantic. Words were presented to participants; each word was followed by a question which required a yes or no answer. Finally, participants were presented with the incidental memory test- incidental as they didn’t originally know they were going to do it. Recall was measured through a recognition task where participants had to choose as many of the original words as they could amongst several others.

26. Is the word in capital letters? Does this word rhyme with GREEN?
Chair
Does this word rhyme with GREEN?
BEAN
Does the word fit this sentence? ‘The soldier picked up his _____.’
rifle
Is this word in lower-case letters?
FLOWER
Does the word fit this sentence? ‘The woman _________ on the train.’
slept
Does the word rhyme with MEND?
pool
MEANING
Does the word fit this sentence? ‘Yesterday we saw a _______.’
fence
Does the word rhyme with HOUSE?
MOUSE
Does the word fit into this sentence? ‘There are _______ growing in my garden.’
DOORS
Is the word in lower-case letters?
spend
Does the word rhyme with TABLE?
GENERAL
Is this word in capital letters?
article
Does this word fit this sentence? ‘The _____ should not be more than 1000 words.’
castle
Does this word rhyme with STOOL?
POND

27. Craik and Tulvin (1975) [Study]
Results 65% semantic 36% phonetic and 17% of structurally processed words were recalled. Conclusion This study shows that depth of processing affects how well words are remembered. Semantic processing, that is thinking about the meaning of the words, leads to their being remembered best.

28. Craik and Tulvin (1975) A02
G: Problems as participants were all students (good memories?) and the task was artificial and not representative of things we remember. R: As it is a lab experiment we can replicate the experiment easily to check the reliability of the study. A: Shows that students (or anyone wanting to remember something) must attach meaning to it. When things are processed semantically we remember them better. Could develop revision techniques. V: Artificial task so might not be measuring how we actually remember words. However, Pps. didn’t know it was a test of memory that removes some confounding variables. Poor population validity – all students. E: Participants could have been embarrassed if they didn’t do well.

30. Trace Decay Theory
Trace-decay theory can be used to explain forgetting from either STM or LTM. It proposes that forgetting occurs due to information not being available so there is nothing to retrieve thus recall cannot occur.
This theory is based on the idea that information creates a neurological (physical) trace in the brain when it is encoded which disappears over time. Without the rehearsal of information, engrams decay over time thus the memory disappears and forgetting occurs.
Forgetting therefore occurs from STM due to the stores limited duration if maintenance rehearsal does not take place. Equally, despite having a potential life-time duration, it has been suggested that if knowledge and skills in LTM are not practiced, then the engram will decay causing a structural change in LTM thus forgetting.

31. AO2 STRENGHTS Trace Decay Theory
A study conducted by Peterson and Peterson (1959) supports the idea of trace decay in STM. They found that the number of trigrams recalled by participants decreased as the length of distraction task increased. This finding suggests that forgetting in STM is due to trace decay since the distraction task prevented rehearsal- the function of which is to replenish the trace before it decays completely.
This theory is also supported by physiological evidence showing that memories do create a physical trace in the brain.
The theory also has mundane realism as it is consistent with the forgetting demonstrated by people with Alzheimer’s disease who seem to lose memories (a physical process) rather than be unable to retrieve them. This suggests that trace decay may be a valid theory of forgetting.

32. AO2 LIMITATIONS Trace Decay Theory
X Furthermore, Jenkins & Dallenbach (1924) tested whether time between encoding and recall led to forgetting. They found that participants who remained awake between learning and recall forgot more than those who slept. This suggests that interference rather than trace-decay causes forgetting as the lower recall in the awake group must have resulted from events between learning and recall interfering with the engram.
X Another limitation of trace-decay theory is that it cannot explain why some long-term memory engram’s, such as flashbulb memories, seem to be resistant to decay.
X Trace decay also has difficulty explaining why material which cannot be remembered at one time can be remembered at a future time, even though no additional presentations have been made. If the trace has decayed it should never be available.

33. Cue Dependent Theory Tulvin (1975)
Tulvin claims two events are necessary for recall:
A memory trace
Retrieval cue
Context (environmental) Cues
These are cues in the environment which aid our ability to retrieve a memory at a later date. Forgetting occurs as the situation or context is different from that at encoding.
State Cues
This is the emotional state you are in at time of encoding. Forgetting occurs as the person’s state or mood is different from that at encoding.

34. Cue Dependent Theory (AO2) Tulvin (1975)
Strengths
The theory accounts for forgetting in different tasks. There are many supporting studies.
The idea is testable because the retrieval environment can be replicated.
The Cognitive Interview is based on the theory that by providing cues to a person it will aid their ability to recall information.
Weaknesses
The tasks used in the supporting studies are artificial so the results may lack ecological validity and validity.
It may only account for some forms of forgetting.
Only applies to forgetting from the LTM.

35. Mind map what you know about Godden & Baddley (1975) [Study]

36. Godden & Baddley (1975) [Study]
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of environmental encoding cues on the ability to recall. Procedure: The 18 participants were randomly divided into four groups and all participants took part in all 4 conditions (repeated measured design). Participants were to learn list comprised of 36 unrelated words, 2-3 syllables long then recall in either the same or different context. During the experiment each participant undertook one condition per day: dry-dry; dry-wet; wet-wet; wet-dry. Conclusion: Godden and Baddeley concluded that their results do support the claims of cue-dependency theory.

37. Godden & Baddley (1975) AO2
G: Only trained SCUBA divers were used therefore it may not apply to all people. The environment and the tasks were artificial – learning does not usually take place like that. R: The experiment can be replicated to test the reliability of the results. We could replicate in more ecologically valid situations (classroom vs. exam hall). A: We can apply the findings to students learning in one environment and recalling in another. Better to sit exams in a classroom not hall. V: Word list was artificial – not real learning. Poor population validity. E: No ethical issues were broken. Not an issue.

38. Complete a detailed key study S&W for Godden & Baddeley
Task:
Complete a detailed key study S&W for Godden & Baddeley
15mins

39. Godden and Baddeley (1975)
Godden and Baddeley carried out a field experiment using a small number of participants. The participants were all scientists and this could have meant they were a biased sample because they may have tried hard for the researchers or they may have guessed the hypothesis of the study and changed their behaviour so the results would be biased and unreliable. A field experiment has controls but the problem is it is hard to control the settings, indeed the diving situations did vary because the study had to move with the divers and also had to wait until the time and conditions for diving were suitable. This means that controls were difficult which again could affect reliability. On the other hand, the findings are probably valid because there were real divers on real dives so the situation regarding the context (which was the independent variable) was natural. The study was ethical because the divers were aware of what they had to do and were trained divers so were not under pressure with regard to the task. Being scientists they would not be too worried about experimental procedures such as writing underwater, although this may have meant the study lacked reliability as already explained-it would however indicate that they would not have cheated about what they had learnt but would have been honest.
Generalisability?

41. Factors after the event
Key Issue: EWT & Memory
Reconstructive Hypothesis
Loftus & Palmer
What really happened
Factors after the event
Our perception of the event.

42. How does it help us explain the issues with eyewitness testimony?
Multi-Store Model
Atkinson & Shiffrin
Information is only passed into the STM from the SM is we attend to it. If we are not attending to an event in the environment information about it will decay from the SM and will not be processed further (encoded) – no memory.
Levels of Processing
Craik and Lockheart
We remember things well when they have been deeply processed, that is anaylsyed for meaning rather than for structural or phonetic information. Most questions following an event usually refer to apperance (structural processing).
Cue-dependency
Tulvin
Research has shown that both our internal state and our surroundings when we store a new memory serve as memory cues. If these cues are not present at recall we will be unable to recall the event accurately.
Reconstructive Memory
Loftus & Palmer
The active process of reconstruction takes place as we retrieve memories. We tend to include post-event information when reconstruct memories. Therefore, memories can be easily distorted by using leading questions.

43. The Cognitive Interview Fisher & Geiselman (1992)
46%
Increase !
The four main techniques that the CIT uses to aid retrieval are:
Recreating the context: It is well established that memory is context dependent and so asking a witness to think about how they were feeling just before and during the event to be recalled, perhaps evoking the sounds and smells relating to the event, should facilitate retrieval.
Focused concentration: Persuading the witness to concentrate very hard on the task.
Multiple retrieval attempts: Encouraging a witness who feels they have recalled everything about an event to have another attempt can unlock previously un-recovered detail.
Varied retrieval: Witnesses will often recall events in chronological order but if they are asked to recall details in a different order, or from a different perspective, this may trigger additional information.

44. How Science Works: EXPERIMENTS
Edexcel Psychology: Unit 1
How Science Works: EXPERIMENTS

45. Experiments Three types of experiments: Laboratory experiments
Highly controlled / artificial
Field experiments
Controlled variables in a natural environment
Quasi (natural) experiments
We have no control over the independent variable – it’s ‘naturally’ occurring (eg Gender)

46. Experiments Independent Variable (IV) Dependent Variable (DV)
Confounding Variable: a variable that effects the DV
Extraneous Variable: a variable that could affect the DV but
has been controlled for so it doesn’t.

47. Experiments Extraneous Variables Participant Variables
Independent Measures = Individual Differences
Situational Variables
Any feature of the experiment that could influence a participants behaviour
Single Blind – Double Blind – Control Groups

48. Experiments Repeated Measures
Independent Measures
Participants are only in one condition.
Repeated Measures
The same participants repeat the two conditions
Condition 1 Condition 2
Condition 1 Condition 2
Counter balancing – alter order of Pp’s

49. Experiments
Matched Pairs – make two groups of participants as similar as possible.
Condition 1
Condition 2
Male 21
IQ = 105
Male 21
IQ = 105
Female 25
IQ = 115
Female 25
IQ = 115

50. Strength Weakness Independent Measures Repeated Measures Matched Pairs
No Order Effects Fewer Demand Characteristics
Individual Differences
Repeated
Measures
No Individual Differences
Order Effects
(counter balancing)
Matched
Pairs
Controls for Individual Differences
Can be difficult and costly.
Evaluation of Experimental Designs.

51. Experiments – Hypotheses
How are we measuring memory?
What’s better or worse? Higher / Lower? More / Less?
Participants memory will be much worse when there is a distraction in the room than when there is no distraction.
Participants memory will be much worse when there is a distraction in the room than when there is no distraction.
What is the distraction? How are we manipulating it?
Operationalising your hypothesis
How have you manipulated your IV?
How have you measured your DV?

52. Experiments – Hypotheses
Participants memory will be much worse when there is a distraction in the room than when there is no distraction.
Participants will remember significantly more words from a list of 20 presented for 60 seconds when they are in a room with no distractions than participants who are in a room where rock music is playing in the background.

53. Experiments – Hypotheses
Participants who [do something] will be significantly [faster/better/quicker etc] at [something] than participants who [do something else].
There will be no significant difference between participants who [do something] and those who [do something else]. Any difference will be down to chance.
Alternate
Null

54. Experiments – Hypotheses
Participants who [do something] will be significantly [faster/better/quicker etc] at [something] than participants who [do something else].
There will be a significant difference between participants who [do something] and those who [do something else].
1Tailed
2Tailed

55. Key Terms - Experiments
Laboratory Experiment
Field Experiment
Quasi Experiment
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Confounding Variable
Extraneous Variable
Replication
Cause and Effect
Ecological Validity
Alternate Hypothesis
Demand Characteristics
Ethics
Independent Measures
Repeated Measures
Matched-Pairs
Individual Differences
Order Effects
Counter Balancing
Operationalising Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis

56. Data Analysis Descriptive Statistics
Summary of data to illustrate patterns and relationships – BUT can’t infer conclusions
Inferential Statistics
Statistical tests that allow us to make conclusions in relation to our hypothesis.
eg. Mann-Whitney or Spearman’s Rho.

57. Data Analysis
Nominal - measure of central tendency: mode Data in categories (finished, fell, started) Ordinal - measure of central tendency: median Data which are ranked or in order (1st 2nd 3rd) Interval - measure of central tendency: mean Precise and measured using units of equal intervals (1m54s, 1m59s, 2m03s) Measure of dispersion = range (Highest – Lowest) Measure of central tendency = average

58. Strength Weakness Mean Median Mode
Makes use of all the values in a data set.
Not good for ordinal or nominal data.
Can be distorted by extreme values.
Median
Unaffected by extreme values.
Not good for nominal data.
Ignores extreme outliers.
Mode
Can be used with any data type.
Isn’t useful for small data sets.

59. Ethics Consent Advice Colleagues Withdrawal Competency Debriefing
Deception
Confidentiality
Observation
Protection
Advice
Colleagues
Competency