In a free immediate recall experiment, participants are given a list of words th

Question

In a free immediate recall experiment, participants are given a list of words that are all semantically associated with a critical word (like bed, slumber, pillow, nap, etc.). The critical word (sleep) is not present in the list. Participants often falsely remember the critical word when recalling the list.  

One researcher would like Group A to see a list of 5 words and Group B to see a list of 10 words.

The other researcher would like Group A to see a list of 10 words and Group B to see a list of 50 words.

Which research design do you think would be more likely to show a significant group difference? Consider the strength of your manipulation and the possibility of floor/ceiling effects in your answer.

Explanation / Answer

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Immediate recall is when a small piece of information is recalled for a short period of time. It is called “immediate” recall simply because of the quick associations that the brain forms based on the information at hand.

In the case of this experiment, the word that is immediately recalled is “sleep.” This is because that the things or words that are associated with the word “sleep” are handed out to the participants. In the case of the experiment, the participants have words like pillow, nap, bed etc.

This experiment worked in causing the participants to think of the word “sleep” because lesser words led to a certain immediacy and quick recall. Furthermore, the experiment was succinct by not including too many other words that might have confused the participants or might have led to a recall of personal memories that might have resulted in different or numerous associations. For instance, if the word “lamp” was a part of the set, some participants might think about how they put a lamp off at night before they sleep. However, other participants might think about “furniture” or “electrical appliances” or even “reading a book by a lamp.”

Since more words tend to confuse the immediate memory, it would lead to more discrepancies and differences in the study. This is why the researcher with 10 and 50 words would have a bigger difference than the one with 5 and 10 words because the difference is higher.

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