Baddeley (1966)

Baddeley (1966)

1. ABOUT

   • AIM
     • To find out if LTM encodes acoustically (based on sound) or semantically (based on meaning).
   • IV
     • (1) Acoustically similar word list or acoustically dissimilar
     • (2) semantically similar word list or semantically dissimilar
   • DV
     • Score on a recall test of 10 words
   • SAMPLE
     • 72 men and women from the Cambridge University subject panel
       • Volunteers
       • There were 15-20 in each condition (15 in Acoustically Similar, 16 in Semantically Similar).

2. PROCEDURE

   • The participants are split into four groups.
     • Each group views a slideshow of a set of 10 words. Each word appears for 3 seconds.
   • ACOUSTICALLY SIMILAR CONDITION
     • Participants get a list of words that share a similar sound (man, cab, can, max, etc)
     • The Control group get words that are all simple one syllable words but they do not sound the same (pit, few, cow, pen, etc)
   • SEMANTICALLY SIMILAR CONDITION
     • The words share a similar meaning (great, large, big, huge, etc)
     • The Control group get words that are unconnected (good, huge, hot, safe, etc)
   • The participants in all 4 conditions then carry out an “interference test” which involves hearing then writing down 8 numbers three times.
     • Then they recall the words from the slideshow in order.
   • There are four “trials” and (as you would expect) the participants’ get better each time they do it because the words stay the same.
     • After the 4th trial, the participants get a 15 minute break and perform an unrelated interference task.
       • Then they are asked to recall the list again.
         • This time the words themselves are still on display; it is the order of the words the participants have to recall.

3. RESULTS

   • Difficulty recalling semantically similar words in the LTM
   • Ppts found it difficult/confusing to recall acoustically similar words in the STM

4. CONCLUSION

   • LTM encodes semantically
   • STM encodes acoustically

5. EVALUATION

   • GENERALISAIBILITY
     • A volunteer sample might have more people with parrticularly good memories who enjoy doing memory tests - not representative of people in general.
   • RELIABILITY
     • It has standardised procedures that you could replicate yourself.
   • APPLICATION
     • Revision - If LTM encodes semantically, it makes sense to revise using mind maps that use semantic links.
   • VALIDITY
     • Low ecological validity as the task is artificial and it is a lab experiment
   • ETHICS
     • No significant ethical issues