Introduction Memory is a cognitive, information- processing system which enables

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Introduction

Memory is a cognitive, information- processing system which enables us to store and retrieve information over time ( Zimbardo. Johnson, & Hamilton, 2014). Although our memories are normally quite reliabl, it is known that sometimes our memories can be susceptible to various kind of errors and distortions (Schacter, Koustal & Norman, 1997). For example, Roediger and McDermott (1995) found that when presenting participants with lists of thematically related words with a critical but unpresented lure (e.g., the words thread, pin eye,sewing,sharp, and point are presented, but not the critical associated word needle) participants would falsely recall the critical lure. A more recent study by Dehon and Breddart(2004) used this sort of test ( called the DRM paradigm) to establish that older adults are more likely to falsely recall the critical lure than younger adults.

Based on past findings, the present study attempts to replicate the finding that older adults are more susceptible to false memories by using lists of words and a recognition test.

The experimental hypothesis predicts that older participants will have a higher rate of false recognition than younger participants while the null hypothesis predicts that there will be no difference in the rate of false recognition between older and younger participants.

Design

The experiment employed a between participants design. The independent variable was the age group having two values, the older adults and the younger participants. The dependent variable was susceptibility to false recognition as measured by instances of false recognition in ‘recognition test’.

Participants

There are a total of 10 participants in the older adults. Mean age between them was 55. There are also 10 participants in the younger adults. Mean age between them was 25.

Results

Table 1 shows the mean number of falsely recognized words for older and younger adults. The mean numbers of falsely recognized words in the older adults are 4.5 while the mean numbers of falsely recognized words between the younger participants are 1.7.

Table: Mean number of falsely recognized words

Participants age group

Number of falsely recognized words

Older adults

4.5

Younger adults

1.7

Results of an independent sample t-test show that there was a significant difference between the mean number of falsely recognized words for older (M= 4.5, SD= 0.3162) and younger adults (M=1.7, SD=0.1581); t (5.014) p=0.

Therefore, the experimental hypothesis can therefore be accepted and we reject the null hypothesis.

Questions( i need help in how to write in the discussions section)

write the discussions here bearing in mind that the discussions must relate back to the research findings in the Introduction

Participants age group

Number of falsely recognized words

Older adults

4.5

Younger adults

1.7

Explanation / Answer

Discussion - The statistical findings obtained by t-test clealrrly support our experimental hypothesis and thus suggets that older adults' memory would be more suseptible to error and distortions. Therefore this study also clearly indicate the age as an important factor in the memory functioning. The findig from this research in generally in line with the exisiting theories of cogniitve decline with aging which presumes that cognitive decline is normal process associated with aging. However the more specific study of memory distortion in this research (false recognition of thematically related words further indicate that we may move on to advance psychological explainations/hypothesis beyond the exisitng biological hypotheses of reduction of neuronal densisity with aging. The kind of memory distortion especially suggest that the reason for distortion may also lie in the more mature psychological structures among the older adults to tend to process general informaiton more automatically due to higher experiences and pay lesser attention to stimulie to be processed in this activity. this may imply that the reason of memory distortion may primarily be cognitive style (automatic processing) of older adults and not biological deterioraiton associated with age.

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