Memory, Serial Position Effect on Word Recall from two Word-lists (draft-final)
Words recalled from the beginning of the list of words is called the primacy-effect, and is better remembered than words from the middle of the series of words, (this does not include words from the end of the word-list). Words recalled from the end of the list of words is called recency effect and is better recalled than words in the middle of the series of words, (this does not include words from the beginning of the word-list). Primacy and recency are cognitive learning processes. The primacy-effect phenomenon exists when initial stimuli presented on a word-list are recalled from long-term memory, and should not be recited quickly. If words are recited slowly then decay is reduced. With recency-effect phenomenon, memory retrieval and memory rehearsal processes are more easily activated because there are less items in the working memory at the time of free-will memory recall. The recency-effect phenomenon can be compared to the primacy-effect phenomenon, except that words from the end of the word-list is better recalled because stimuli presented on a word list are recalled from short-term memory, rehearsed, then transferred to long-term memory.
Interference is too involved in memory recall and is referred to as; the prime culprit for memory failure. There are two kinds of cognitive interference; proactive interference and retroactive interference. Proactive interference is referred to as; interference of previous memories of words from a word-list, with retrieval of new information from that particular word-list. Retroactive interference is referred to as; new information from a word-list interferes with retrieval of old information.
Memory is integral with several biases; cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic and evolutionary. Memory is referred to as; long-term memory, short-term memory or working memory and sensory memory. Long-term memory is referred to as; an organism’s ability to recall, rehearse and retrieve words presented from the beginning of a word-list that the organism has experienced visually and phonemically in the series of words presented. Short-term memory is referred to as; an organisms ability to recall, rehearse and retrieve words from the end of a word-list that the organism has experienced visually and phonemically. From these two phenomenon’s, short-term memory is expected to better result in response than long-term memory because words at the end of the word-list are recent to the working memory phenomenon. Sensory memory is referred to as; the spacing between words being articulated from a word-list to an organism, and the allotted response-time to words from the word-list being encoded, stored and retrieved by an organism.
This research module is designed to test the serial position effect from human memory. Therefore an experiment is conducted and empirically measure is analysed to gain knowledge of what effects are presented from memory of six participants. Evidence from early studies by Griffin and Shiffrin in testing the serial position effect, suggest that the recency effect is more prominent with recall when subjects memorize a list of words and are allowed to repeat these words immediately after hearing the word lists.
Therefore, this research module will find that words presented from two word-lists consistent with fourteen items on each word-list that; words from the ends of these word-lists will be better recalled than words from the middle of the lists of words. Research module hypothesis one: "items from the end of a list of words will be better recalled by participant's free-will memory than words from the middle of a list of words". Furthermore, the module's research also hypothesize; "items from the beginning of a list of words will be better recalled by participant's free-will memory than words from the middle of a list of words". Herenow, this module's final hypothesis; "items from the end of a list of words will be better recalled by participant's free-will memory than words from the beginning and middle of a list of words".
Method (draft-final)
Participants
Participants total six people, chosen from among family, friends and acquaintance of module's researcher. Participants reside in Otara, South Auckland. Two participant's indicate they are single, Maori, male teenagers aged between eighteen years and twenty three years old, where one indicates that he is employed and the other is a student, between them earning a total of sixty three thousand dollars per annum. Two participants indicate they are married, one is Pakeha/New Zealander and the other European, where one is aged fifty two plus years old and employed as Tunnel Construction Worker and the other is aged thirty four to thirty nine years old and works as a Transporter Driver, between them earning one hundred and fifty five thousand dollars per annum. Two participants indicate they are female, Maori, where one lives in a de facto relationship and one is single. One female participant is twenty three years to thirty three years old and is a beneficiary and other female is forty years to forty six years old and is a student between them earning seventy nine thousand dollars per annum. Three participants thought this exercise interesting, one participant also thought it challenging, one thought it good to know how memory works, one was glad to think about memory, one thought it useful as a way of remembering and one thought it hard to remember the words. All participants sign off permission and demographic section of experiment proceedings.
One quiet work area, one table and two chairs. Twelve pieces of blank A4 paper (two per participant), three pens (one for participant, one for experimenter, one for spare). One experimenter notes (list of variables that will be checked-off or checked-on as internal validity of experiment; before, during and after experiment occurrence).
Two word lists, with word-list ‘one’ consisting of fourteen words; bat, umbrella, telephone, dog, chair, ruler, fire, pencil, ashtray, horse, queen, spoon, flower, scissors. Word-list ‘two’ consisting of fourteen words; thunder, cat, mug, shirt, fork, pipe, pen, rug, piano, tree, goat, rain, barn, bowl. Four worksheets consisting of; worksheet-one quantified as table of words remembered from word-list one, worksheet-two quantified as table of words remembered from word-list two, worksheet-three quantified as table of total words remembered from each serial position, worksheet-four qualified as image of graph showing serial position curve, (all worksheets compiled and completed at data analysis stage of report processing).
Procedure
All participants were interviewed in the home of the researcher and recruited to participate in an experiment and told they will be given words from a list of words and that they are to recall as many words they can, in any order they prefer to recollect these. Participants are informed that their demographics and experimental data extracted from this experiment will be kept confidential and that only the researcher and psychology tutor will be privy to this information. Participants are asked to sign a consent form.
Only one participant is tested at any one time. Participants; one, two and three are tested on Monday 24th May 2010 at 10am, 12pm and 2pm respectively. Participants; four, five and six are tested on Tuesday 25th May 2010 at 11am, 2pm, and 4pm respectively. Experimenter leads participants to quiet work-area and seats them at a table. Each participant is told they will be read two lists of words with each list containing fourteen words and that after each word-list reading they will be given as much time as they like to recall as many words possible and in any order their memory recollection allows. Participants are given time to ask any questions they may have.
When participant’s questions are clarified, the experimenter then reads words from word-list ‘one’ with a one second break between the readings of each word from the word-list. When all fourteen words have been read to each participant from word-list one, then experimenter gives participant two blank A4 paper and writes ‘word-list one’ at the top of the A4 page to indicate which word-list is being recalled and puts a number; one through six (1-6), on the A4 page to indicate which recalled list of words belong to whichever participant’s corresponding responses. Experimenter then says ‘go’ and participant recalls and writes as many words possible, in any order each participant feels is a competent response. When participant has completed recall task one, they are given a ten minute break. After break, experimenter reads word-list ‘two’ to participant, and experiment is repeated for this word-list reading and word-list responses respectively. Difference being that; experimenter writes word-list ‘two’ at the top of the other blank A4 paper given to participants. Participants are debriefed in serial position effect and their demographics are collected. End of experiment.
Results
Data analysis of six participants responses for words remembered from word-list one show a total score of 84 words correctly recollected for each serial position and thereby reveals a mean score of 2.7, a median score of 3 and the mode score is 1.
Discussion
References
