The Ability to Recall a Word Depends on How Meaningful the Word Is to a Person s1

PSY 231: Research Methods in Psychology Fall 2014 Sections 01-06, Dr. Cutting

Class experiment

Our experiment examines the effect of (and possible interaction of) two factors on our memory of lists of words. The first factor is whether words are concrete or abstract. The second factor is what “level of processing” we carry out when learning a list of words. This document contains the instructions and materials required to carryout the experiment.

Instructions for running the experiment

Creating the stimuli Neatly print each of the following words on index cards (or pieces of paper), one per card (print them all in the same color, the colors below are just to help you identify the different kinds of words: Concrete Words/ Abstract Words).

For conditions A & B apple - interest – theory - ocean – pencil - moral – microscope - anger – chance - baby - car – hammer - fate – happiness – book – effort - bird - money – hope - knowledge

Variable 2) A “levels of processing” manipulation

- Condition A: “does the word have the letter ‘a’ in it?” - Condition B: “is the word something that you associate with your experience at Illinois State University?”

Testing the participants (remember use different people for each condition) 1) Have your participant read and sign the consent form (your participant MUST be at least 18 years old) 2) Provide each participant with a pen/pencil and a blank sheet of paper, shuffle your cards so that the words are in a random order 3) Read instructions: “I’m going to present you with a short list of words. Please LISTEN to each word on the list. After each word I’d like you to respond ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ Condition A: “whether the word has the letter “a” in it Condition B: “whether the word is something that you associate with your experience at Illinois State University?” After I present the list, I’ll give you a number. Please count backwards from that number by 3’s until I tell you to RECALL. When I tell you to RECALL, please write down as many of the words from the lists as you can remember. Do you have any questions?” 4) When the participant is ready read the words in the list, allowing them to answer Y/N to each word. 5) Give them a number and have them count backwards by 3’s for 15 seconds 6) Following presentation, ask your participant to try to recall as many of the words from the list as they can. Give them up to 90 seconds. 7) Thank the participant for their participation. Read the debriefing statement to each participant. Ask them if they have any questions. If there are questions that you can’t answer provide them with my contact information (Dr. J. Cooper Cutting, [email protected], 438-2999) and let them know that I will answer their questions.

Compiling the data On a separate sheet of paper (see the provided “Data summary sheet”), report the number of correctly recalled words in each of the 2 conditions (2 numbers for each participant). Turn in the sheet along with the signed consent forms in class on Monday (or Tuesday). Debriefing Statement

Read the following paragraph to your participant:

Thank you for participation in our research project. The primary purpose of this experiment is to provide some hands-on research experience for me in conjunction with my Research Methods in Psychology course. We’re investigating some of the factors that may influence people’s memory for lists of words. One factor that we’re investigating is the impact of different kinds of words (abstract versus concrete) on recall. The other factor that we’re examining is whether your memory improves if you consider the meaning of the words rather than just the spelling. If you are interested in the results of this class project, they will be available upon request from Dr. Cutting at the end of the semester. Do you have any questions? Data Summary sheet

Student researcher’s name: ______(this is the name of the student enrolled in 231, NOT the name of the participants)

Your GA: ☐ Adam Hampton ☐ Angela Conte

Count the number of correctly recalled words in for each participant. Record these numbers beside the corresponding conditions:

 condition A: abstract words ______concrete words ______

 condition B: abstract words ______concrete words ______

Return this sheet along with the signed consent forms in class on Monday. Illinois State University Informed consent (Participants) Dept. of Psychology Principal Investigator: Dr. J. Cooper Cutting

PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY. ALL PARTICIATION IS VOLUNTARY. SIGN YOUR NAME BELOW ONLY IF YOU AGREE TO PARTICIPATE AND YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS. YOUR SIGNATURE IS REQUIRED FOR PARTICIPATION. YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS OF AGE TO GIVE YOUR CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH. FOR THIS PROJECT, YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS OF AGE TO PARTICIPATE. IF YOU DESIRE A COPY OFTHIS CONSENT FORM, WE WILL PROVIDE ONE.

The policy of the Department of Psychology is that all research participation in the Department is voluntary, and you have the right to withdraw at any time, without prejudice, should you object to the nature of the research. Your responses are confidential. Any report of the data collected will be in summary form, without identifying individuals. You are entitled to ask questions and to receive an explanation after your participation. You are free to withdraw your participation at any time without penalty. Description of the Study: During this experiment, you will be read a list of words and asked to test your memory for the words. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the experiment is to determine the effects of certain tasks on memory. We are only interested in an evaluation of these variables, and how they are related to one another. We are NOT interested in any specific individual. Possible Risks: The entire experiment should take less than 1/2 hour. There are minimal risks associated with this experiment. Your data will be kept completely confidential. In addition, you are free to discontinue the experiment at any time. Possible Benefits: A) When your participation is complete, you will be given an opportunity to learn about this research, which may be useful to you in your course or in understanding yourself and others. B) You will have an opportunity to contribute to psychological science by participating in this research. Confidentiality: You will be randomly assigned an ID number, which will protect your identity. All data will be kept in secured files, in accord with the standards of the University, Federal regulations, and the American Psychological Association. No identifying information will be stored with your data. Finally, remember that it is no individual person’s responses that interest us; we are studying memory for people in general. Opportunities to Question: Any technical questions about this research may be directed to: Principal Investigator: Dr. J. Cooper Cutting, Phone: 438-2999 Data should be fully available by Dec 1, 2014. Any questions regarding your rights as a research participant or research-related injuries may be directed to: Office of Research, Ethics, and Compliance, 438-8451. Opportunities to Withdraw at will: If you decide now, or at any point, to withdraw this consent or stop participating, you are free to do so at no penalty to yourself.

I have read the statements above, understand the same, and voluntarily sign this form. You are entitled to receive a copy of this consent form if you wish. Please ask the experimenter.

______Signature of Participant Date Illinois State University Informed consent (Participants) Dept. of Psychology Principal Investigator: Dr. J. Cooper Cutting

I have read the statements above, understand the same, and voluntarily sign this form. You are entitled to receive a copy of this consent form if you wish. Please ask the experimenter.

______Signature of Participant Date Required References that must be included in your literature review. These papers are available as PDFs in the Resources & Materials section of the class ReggieNet web pages.

Kroll & Merves, J. S. (1986)

Craik & Tulving, E. (1975)

Groninger & Groninger, (1982)