Encoding in STM- Conrad (1964)

Encoding in STM- Conrad (1964)

1. Showed participants a random sequence of six consonants and projected them in a very rapid sequence onto a screen

   • Two conditions in this study. 1= the letters were acoustically similar. 2= the letters were acoustically dissimilar
     • Immediately after the presentation, participants were asked to write the letters down in correct serial order

2. He found that participants frequently made error of recall. The majority of errors involved the substitution of a similar-sounding letter.

   • Participants found it more difficult to recall strings of letters that sounded the same than letters that sounded different

3. Conrad concluded that we must convert visually presented material to an acoustic code in STM and that we then find it difficult to distinguish between words that sound the same (there is acoustic confusion)

4. Methodological issues

   • This was a laboratory experiment.
   • Still an artificial setting

5. Ethical issues

   • There are no serious ethical issues in this kind of study but investigators always have to gain consent from participants and to debrief them afterwards