Memory Recall
Introduction
Who did the research? Henry L. Roediger III and Kathleen B. McDermott of Rice University conducted the research.
What is the purpose of the research? The purpose of the research is to show that therapies can cause false memories within individuals and that the recovery of false memories is often reported as true memories.
What have other researchers already discovered about the research topic? Gauld & Stephenson, 1967; Roediger, Wheeler, & Rajaram,1993, couldn’t replicate the same results that Bartlett (1932) had in memory recall experiments. They (Wheeler & Roediger), on the contrary, showed subjects’ improvement in an experimental memory recall task.
How does this study differ from previous research? Roediger and McDermott …show more content…
implemented Deese’s procedure of testing memory recall by using word lists in a single-trial. Many other researchers didn’t use Deese’s method; it seems, because of the timing in which he developed it, more attention was focused on the free-recall paradigm by psychologists because of its “newness.”
What are the specific hypotheses or questions of the research?
1. Whether or not Deese’s paradigm could be used to replicate his findings of predictable, “extralist intrusions in a single-trial, free-recall paradigm.” (Roediger & McDermott, 1988. p. 804)
The Method
Who are the participants in the study? The participants consisted of 36 Rice University undergraduate students.
What materials (tests, questionnaires, software, etc.) and apparatuses (hardware, machines, etc.) were used in the study? The materials used for the memory recall test were six lists and a 42 item recognition test that consisted of 12 studied objects and 30 non-studied objects for Experiment 1; and twenty-four 15-item lists followed by a recognition test for Experiment 2.
What did the participants actually do? The participants had to listen to six lists that were developed by Deese, recalled them, and then received a recognition test that covered the studied and non-studied objects as well as the critical non-presented words.
The Results -- The analyses of the outcomes of the study:
What are the main results for each hypothesis? The results received were conducive of what Roediger and McDermott hypothesized; that, their findings would mirror Deese’s original findings of high levels of false recall and recognition in a single-trial free recall …show more content…
paradigm.
For each hypothesis, did the results support the hypothesis?
Yes, the results for Experiment 1 supported the researchers’ hypothesis, and the results for Experiment 2 exceeded the expected amount of hypothesized rate of recall.
The Discussion
Did the study 's research findings agree with previous research? Yes, other researchers’ findings indicated that there are profound false memory recalls and that evidence cannot be relied upon due to the amount of false memories.
Were there any unexpected findings? The researchers appeared to be a bit surprised at the amount of subjects that reported a memory as an actual event, when in fact it never existed.
Why do the researchers think their findings are important? Their research shows that by using or adding different methods (Deese’s paradigm) to test subjects on their recall and recognition abilities, it can lead to a better understanding as to how and why individuals report false memories and recognitions.
What are the implications of this research? The implications are that individuals report having memories or recognitions of items when in fact they’ve never experienced an event or object. And because of this false recollection, memories cannot be relied upon on as being accurate even under controlled
conditions.
What new research directions do the study 's findings suggest? There does not appear to be a clear answer to this question, but from what I gather from the article is that the researchers suggest that better lists need to be comprised to further test subjects’ recall and recognition abilities along with more than a single-trial free recall References
Roediger, H.L., & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 21, 803–814.
Who did the research? Henry L. Roediger III and Kathleen B. McDermott of Rice University conducted the research.
What is the purpose of the research? The purpose of the research is to show that therapies can cause false memories within individuals and that the recovery of false memories is often reported as true memories.
What have other researchers already discovered about the research topic? Gauld & Stephenson, 1967; Roediger, Wheeler, & Rajaram,1993, couldn’t replicate the same results that Bartlett (1932) had in memory recall experiments. They (Wheeler & Roediger), on the contrary, showed subjects’ improvement in an experimental memory recall task.
How does this study differ from previous research? Roediger and McDermott …show more content…
implemented Deese’s procedure of testing memory recall by using word lists in a single-trial. Many other researchers didn’t use Deese’s method; it seems, because of the timing in which he developed it, more attention was focused on the free-recall paradigm by psychologists because of its “newness.”
What are the specific hypotheses or questions of the research?
1. Whether or not Deese’s paradigm could be used to replicate his findings of predictable, “extralist intrusions in a single-trial, free-recall paradigm.” (Roediger & McDermott, 1988. p. 804)
The Method
Who are the participants in the study? The participants consisted of 36 Rice University undergraduate students.
What materials (tests, questionnaires, software, etc.) and apparatuses (hardware, machines, etc.) were used in the study? The materials used for the memory recall test were six lists and a 42 item recognition test that consisted of 12 studied objects and 30 non-studied objects for Experiment 1; and twenty-four 15-item lists followed by a recognition test for Experiment 2.
What did the participants actually do? The participants had to listen to six lists that were developed by Deese, recalled them, and then received a recognition test that covered the studied and non-studied objects as well as the critical non-presented words.
The Results -- The analyses of the outcomes of the study:
What are the main results for each hypothesis? The results received were conducive of what Roediger and McDermott hypothesized; that, their findings would mirror Deese’s original findings of high levels of false recall and recognition in a single-trial free recall …show more content…
paradigm.
For each hypothesis, did the results support the hypothesis?
Yes, the results for Experiment 1 supported the researchers’ hypothesis, and the results for Experiment 2 exceeded the expected amount of hypothesized rate of recall.
The Discussion
Did the study 's research findings agree with previous research? Yes, other researchers’ findings indicated that there are profound false memory recalls and that evidence cannot be relied upon due to the amount of false memories.
Were there any unexpected findings? The researchers appeared to be a bit surprised at the amount of subjects that reported a memory as an actual event, when in fact it never existed.
Why do the researchers think their findings are important? Their research shows that by using or adding different methods (Deese’s paradigm) to test subjects on their recall and recognition abilities, it can lead to a better understanding as to how and why individuals report false memories and recognitions.
What are the implications of this research? The implications are that individuals report having memories or recognitions of items when in fact they’ve never experienced an event or object. And because of this false recollection, memories cannot be relied upon on as being accurate even under controlled
conditions.
What new research directions do the study 's findings suggest? There does not appear to be a clear answer to this question, but from what I gather from the article is that the researchers suggest that better lists need to be comprised to further test subjects’ recall and recognition abilities along with more than a single-trial free recall References
Roediger, H.L., & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 21, 803–814.