Psychology Supplementary Material
DD303 Cognitive psychology
DD303
Are you ready for DD303 Cognitive psychology?
Contents
1.
Introduction
2.
Aims of DD303
3.
Previous study for DD303
4.
DD303 Module profile and demands
5.
Use of computers in DD303
6.
Residential school
7.
Self assessment questions and exercises
7.1 Reading, writing and comprehension
7.2 Research methods
7.3 Data analysis
8.
Ethics
References
Appendix: Answers to Questions and Exercises
1. Introduction
Before embarking on DD303, you will be keen to make sure that you will be able
to complete it successfully and just as importantly enjoy your studies. The
material in this booklet is designed to help you assess if you have the necessary
skills and background knowledge to achieve both those aims.
Importantly DD303 does assume some prior knowledge of psychology and,
because the project work on the module develops an experimental approach,
some understanding of that approach and an ability to interpret simple statistics
would certainly aid your enjoyment and appreciation of the module from the
outset. Much of the material used in the module builds upon and develops
theories, ideas, concepts and processes examined or discussed in the Level 2
modules DSE212 Exploring psychology and its associated project modules
DXR222 and DZX222.
Following this Introduction Sections 2 to 6 of the booklet discuss the module and
its demands in more detail and we suggest that you read this material carefully.
There are also, in Section 7, a number of self-assessment exercises and
questions. (The answers are given at the end of the booklet). This material is
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designed to give you an understanding of the level of skills required to
commence the module. Only you can decide if you feel ready to study DD303. If
you find the extracts from the study material difficult to understand or the
questions difficult to answer that does not necessarily mean that it would be a
mistake to register for DD303 at this stage. However you would be well advised
to spend some time doing some preparatory work around the academic content
of the module and/or your study skills before registering. e.g. re-reading relevant
sections of previous psychology modules you have taken, going over past
essays and TMAs and reflecting on tutor comments.
It will take you two or three hours to work through the text of this booklet and to
tackle the questions, you will need paper and pens and you might find a
highlighter useful for marking parts of the text.
DD303 includes several forums designed to enable students to get the latest
news from the module team, to get further help with and information about using
the software packages E-Prime & SPSS, and of course to exchange views on
different aspects of the module. As befits a third level degree module, DD303 is
both conceptually and technically demanding, and students should not feel
embarrassed to ask for help at any time. But if students do find themselves
sometimes having difficulties, they are encouraged to cheer themselves up with
the thought that last year’s cohort also found the module demanding and yet the
vast majority completed it successfully and many of them actually enjoyed the
experience!
WARNING: The module requires students (and tutors) to spend quite a bit
of time working at a computer. However, you can and should take breaks
from the computer work, perhaps interleaving it with reading or other
(module-related) activities, as you are recommended to do in some of the
project booklets. This is particularly important if you suffer from head or
backache, or from even more serious ailments, but it applies to everyone.
We did not evolve to sit on chairs, much less in front of a computer
screen, and long unbroken spells of doing so are to be avoided.
This Are You Ready document is new and we would welcome your comments
on its usefulness and any ways in which we could improve it. To help us do this
we have provided a feedback sheet ‘How well did we do?’ at the end of the
document for you to complete or you can email us your comment at
[email protected]
2. Aims of the DD303
DD303 sets out to develop your understanding of current theories relating to the
core areas of cognitive psychology. You will be introduced to the principal
debates and controversies within the discipline and will learn about the different
research methods used in cognitive psychology and how these different
methods can often be integrated. You will also be encouraged to explore the
ethical issues that might arise from the use of the various methods of
investigation.
One aim of the module is to assist you in developing your skill in using available
evidence and source material to construct cohesive arguments, compare and
contrast perspectives and critically evaluate, not only methods of research but
also psychological theories and models.
Practical research skills in the predominantly experimental, quantitative methods
used in cognitive psychological research are also developed during the module
with a range of exercises and project work throughout the Module. DD303 is as
much about ‘doing’ cognitive psychology as it is about learning theories,
concepts and models.
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3. Previous study for DD303
It is important to remember that DD303 is a third level undergraduate module
and, therefore, the intellectual demands, are equivalent to those experienced by
students studying the third (final) year of a degree course at another university.
It is important to note that whilst you are not required to have completed any
other modules before registering for DD303 you are expected to have the study
skills (and knowledge) necessary to progress on a level three module. You are,
therefore, most likely to enjoy the work and complete the module successfully if
you have at least had some recent experiences of study at Higher Education
level, preferably of psychology and in particular if you have completed the Open
University module DSE212 Exploring psychology.
Because cognitive psychology uses largely, but not exclusively, an experimental
approach to research, such project work is an essential element of DD303.
Therefore completion of the second level, residential school based, DXR222
Exploring psychology – Project or its on-line alternative DZX222 would also be
ideal preparation for this particular aspect of the demands of DD303. If you
chose to do a quantitative project for the second level module, then it would be
a good idea to look back over it and the tutor comments it received.
4. DD303 Module profile and demands
DD303 is a 60-credit module which means that it involves around 600 hours
work, studying, carrying out practical and independent project work and writing
reports and essays, over the year. Much of the core material for the module is in
the form of a single volume which is set out in five parts. Each part of the
module has a number of specially written chapters in the book and the nature of
cognitive psychology means that there is a considerable amount of complex
material that will involve careful and concentrated study. A companion volume
provides material on methods and ethics. Equally important are the journal
articles that you are required to study to complement your textbook readings.
Whilst acknowledging the interdependence of cognitive process like
remembering, understanding language, perceiving and recognising objects and
people, solving problems, making judgements and taking decisions, cognitive
psychologists tend, largely for practical reasons, to study these phenomena
individually. The first four of the five parts of DD303 also take this approach. In
doing so, however, care is always taken to make links between the topics under
discussion and other areas of cognition as well as to everyday life and the wider
world
Part one considers the perceptual processes, attention, perception and
recognition. It seeks to address questions about why it is that we become aware
of some things going on around us rather than others and asks how we manage
to consciously perceive those things and recognise what they are.
Part two is about memory and although, in one way or another, memory is an
integral part of all the cognitive processes, here we look at memory itself,
considering how information gets into and out of memory, how decisions are
made about what is remembered ‘long term’ and what is forgotten. We also
consider the concept of ‘working memory’ and the ways in which information
available to this memory can be utilised. Finally we look at very long term
memory stretching over our lifetime and role that autobiographical memory
plays in creating or sustaining our sense of self.
Part three considers how language is constructed, how we represent word
meanings, syntax and use our “world knowledge” in producing and
understanding utterances. It goes on to consider how language is used first in
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theories of categorization, the way we are able to form discrete categories of
things like fruit, vegetables and chairs. Finally how the language we use
influences and is influenced by our thought processes.
In Part four we move on to consider ‘thinking processes’ what processes are
involved when we are required to solve problems? These can be simple
everyday things like making a cup of tea in unfamiliar surroundings or more
complex issues like achieving career success. In this part we see examples of a
range of problems that psychologists use to explore the processes involved. We
also consider how judgements and decisions are made and how different
theories might be developed around these processes before finally exploring
several approaches to the study of human reasoning.
Part five goes on to consider some of the topics and areas that can be seen as
presenting challenges to the cognitive approach. Here we consider emotion,
consciousness and how cognitive psychology can be applied in forensic settings
and in understanding “intelligence”. These topics draw on material studied
throughout the module and touch upon the relationship of cognitive psychology
to other approaches. To successfully complete the ‘continuous assessment’ part
of the module it will be necessary for you to:

read a lot of material, from textbooks and original research articles, to a
fairly tight timetable, ideally making notes as you go along

develop your understanding of experimental research including the use of
computer software in presenting stimuli and collecting data

use a computer software statistics package (SPSS) to analyse data and
be able to extract the appropriate information from the results of the
analysis

write well structured, clear and concise project proposals and reports that
demonstrate your understanding of theoretical, methodological and ethical
issues surrounding specific areas of cognitive research

produce essays, which, in your own words and within the specified word
length, address specific questions relating to cognitive research. At the
level being assessed by DD303 you will be expected to do more than
produce descriptive accounts of the material. Essays at third level are
expected to take a critical approach to the material and to ‘build an
argument’ which addresses clearly the posed question.
The end of module assessment comprises a written examination in which you
will be required to write several essay type answers to questions addressing
various areas of research in cognitive psychology. Although these answers will
of necessity be shorter than those produced for the module work, they will be
expected to address a specific question and be constructed in a similar way to a
full-length essay.
5. Use of computers in DD303
Access to a personal computer with an internet connection is essential for
DD303. Much of the communication between students, tutors and the module
team is by way of computer forums and email.
You will be introduced early in the module to a form of software that enables the
running of experiments and collection of data using the computer. Again you will
be provided with step-by-step guidance and a forum in which to seek help and
raise questions. Analysis of gathered data using the statistics package ‘SPSS’ is
also a requirement of DD303. You will be provided with the software and
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licensed to use it for the duration of the module. You will also have access to a
detailed guide to help you with the various statistical procedures involved.
Submission of the six Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs) for DD303 is via the
eTMA system, which means that you submit them electronically; they are
marked by your tutor and returned to you via your computer.
You will appreciate from the above that computer use on DD303 is not
intensive, but it is a regular requirement for a number of essential learning
activities. This is why it is so important that you can guarantee regular access
to a networked machine on which you can load module software. Unlike some
other OU modules, occasional trips to an “Internet café” will not suffice
here.
6. Residential school
Attendance at a one-week Residential School is a core component of DD303.
During this week students, usually working in pairs, carry out an experimental
project of their own design, analyse the data and discuss the findings. At the
Residential School you will work in a ‘tutorial group’, your Residential School
Tutor will provide guidance and advice on your project, and you will be able to
exchange ideas with other students in a supportive context. You will have the
opportunity to act as a participant in a range of interesting projects carried out
by other students. In addition the tutors will give a series of evening talks,
attendance at which is optional, related to the module and either based on their
own research or exploring particular topics or chapters from the module
material. There may also be a social programme much of which is organised by
The Open University Students Association (OUSA). You will leave the
Residential School having designed a project, conducted your experiment,
analysed the data that you have collected and discussed your findings with your
tutor and other students. Once you return home you will write up a full
experimental report on your project and submit it as a TMA.
DD303 Residential Schools are held on several university campuses over a
period of three or four weeks mainly during July each year.
The Residential School is an integral part of the learning and assessment
strategy for DD303 and you will be expected to attend. Students unable to
attend may apply to complete the Alternative Learning Experience (ALE)
instead. The ALE affords the opportunity to complete your project and to
participate in other students’ projects, on-line; it involves working fairly
intensively over an uninterrupted three-week period commencing early in
August. The total amount of time that ALE students will require to devote to
their studies over the three weeks will be roughly equivalent to that spent on the
compulsory parts of the one-week Residential School. However, the nature of
the ALE makes it difficult to include many of the additional activities, like
methods sessions, tutor lectures and of course the social activities available at
the Residential School.
Students considering an application to complete the ALE should also consider
that, in order to be able to complete all the steps necessary to ensure that they
are ready to write up the report as a TMA at the end of the three weeks; the
amount of flexibility in the timetable is necessarily limited. There are deadlines
to be met at certain points throughout the three-week period and you will need
to be confident that you will be able to log in and participate frequently
throughout the full, three-week, duration of the ALE. In particular, the middle
week of the three weeks is a crucial time for running experiments (using either
participants at home or, online, from the ALE), and it would be unwise to plan a
break during this period. The number of students that can be accommodated on
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the ALE is limited and you should apply only if attendance at residential school
is impossible.
Please note that full participation in residential school or ALE and the
submission of a satisfactory report is a requirement of DD303; you cannot
pass the module without them.
DD303 has been designed to provide a blend of face-to face meetings and
electronic conferencing to support you in your studies. The exact nature of the
blend will depend on where you live, but most regions will organise one or two
Day Schools, and may well be able to supplement these with meetings of
individual tutor groups. There will also be regional and tutor-group forums where
support will be available and queries can be addressed. In addition there is a
nationally organised module-wide forum where you can post technical queries
about how to use the module software.
7. Self assessment questions and exercises
In this section we have included some exercises and questions that will help you
to decide whether you are ready for DD303.
To answer the questions in the following sections you will need to be able to
make sense of any arguments being made, extract relevant information and
summarise material concisely and accurately. You will need to support your
answers with reasons based on the material in the text where appropriate.
Section 7.1 asks you to read extracts from the module material and answer
some question based on your understanding of what you have read. Just
‘looking up’ the answers in the extracts will not be very helpful to you in
assessing how ready you are for DD303. Try reading each set of extracts
several times so that you understand what they are telling you, make notes
about your understanding of the key points and then try to answer the questions
based on what you have learned. Refer to your notes if you need to but only go
back to the extracts to clarify a point or seek out a ‘quote’ for your answer.
Based on a fictitious experiment, described in Section 7.2, the questions posed
in the remaining sections are designed to enable you to check your level of
knowledge in respect of experimental design and the analysis and interpretation
of data. As mentioned in the Introduction, as a third level module DD303 does
assume some prior knowledge in these areas. Correctly answering these
questions will enable you to be confident that your knowledge is at the level
upon which the DD303 material is designed to build.
The questions vary in their level of difficulty and there is no ‘pass mark’.
However if overall you correctly answer more than half of the questions then you
are probably ready to study DD303. A few less than half then you might
consider undertaking some preparatory work before commencing DD303. If you
find that you are able only to answer just the occasional question, then you may
need to do some work (as indicated earlier) on the appropriate topics before
commencing the module. If you are doubtful about your ability to successfully
complete DD303 then you may find it helpful to discuss your plans with
someone at the Regional Centre, who will be able to offer further guidance.
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7.1 Reading, writing and comprehension
7.1.1 Memory
The extracts below (paragraphs (a) to (d)) are based on the material in Part 2,
Chapter 5 of the DD303 Module Book, Cognitive Psychology (Kaye 2010).
a)
Baddeley (1996a) showed that immediate recall of a list of briefly
presented words is poor when the items are phonemically similar to each
other e.g. share the same vowel, as in man, can, cad, etc) but is
unaffected when they are semantically similar (e.g. share the same
meaning. as in huge, big, large etc) however, when the same materials
are presented more than once and memory is tested after a longer
retention interval the accuracy of recall is lower for semantically similar
items and is unaffected by phonemic similarity (Baddeley, l966b). These
observations pointed to two separate storage systems that code
information in different ways. Information in short term memory (STM) is
held in an acoustic or speech-based form whereas information in long
term memory (LTM) is coded in terms of its meaning.
b)
Other evidence showed that the rate of forgetting briefly presented stimuli
was unusually rapid when compared with forgetting rates for betterlearned material, consistent with the idea that STM is much more labile
(unstable) than LTM (Brown, 1958). Over and above these observations, it
had been known for quite some time that the so called ‘span of immediate
memory’ is limited to just a few items, whether these are digits, letters or
words (e.g. Miller, 1956). Memory span is the longest sequence that can
be recalled accurately after a single presentation. The low limit on span
suggests that STM can be distinguished from LTM on the grounds of its
limited capacity.
c)
Because of the compelling evidence at this time several two-store models
of memory were proposed. Reflecting this unanimity, their common
features were integrated into what was known as the ‘modal model’
(Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1971), the main assumptions of which were that:
•
STM is a limited-capacity store of short duration
•
control processes, such as subvocal rehearsal, can be used to
maintain information in STM, and
•
information in STM is gradually transferred to LTM.
In this model, information passes from the environment through very brief
‘sensory stores’, some of it then goes into the ‘short-term store’ from
where it can access the ‘long term store’. Atkinson and Shiffrin introduce
the idea of the short-term store as a ‘temporary working memory’ where a
number of ‘control’ processes take place. Decisions can be made;
material rehearsed or coded before passing into the long-term store and,
previously stored information retrieved from the long-term store as
necessary. These ‘control processes’ are seen as in some way optional
and conceptually different from any involuntary or ‘automatic’ processes
that might register certain information in memory.
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d)
At about the same time that the Atkinson and Shiffrin model was enjoying
its popularity, numerous other authors argued that the transient storage
provided by STM was crucial for cognitive activities such as sentence
comprehension or problem solving. In other words, there was a general
assumption that STM behaves as some form of working memory. We can
gain some insight into the plausibility of supposing that these activities
require keeping track of temporary information within a stream of ongoing
mental operations by considering what are referred to as ‘garden-path
sentences’. Garden-path sentences are sentences that lead the reader or
listener ‘up the garden path’ towards an incorrect interpretation, as in We
painted the wall with cracks.
It is the ambiguity of such sentences that makes them difficult. One
explanation assumes that multiple interpretations of ambiguous sentences
are held in working memory (Just and Carpenter. 1992). Just and
Carpenter support their view with evidence that individuals with low
working memory capacity are less able to maintain multiple interpretations
than individuals with high working memory capacity. However, an
alternative theory is that comprehension draws on more specialized
resources than working memory (e.g. Caplan and Waters, 1999).
Question 1
What is meant by the term ‘memory span’?
Question 2
It has been argued that short-term memory (STM) behaves as form of ‘working’
memory because it provides ‘transient storage’ for certain cognitive activities.
What do you understand by ‘transient storage’ and how is this important for
cognitive processes like sentence comprehension and problem solving?
Question 3
‘Garden path sentences’ are said to be those that lead the reader or listener up
the garden path. What would be an example of such a sentence and what
explanation did Just and Carpenter (1992) give for an individual’s ability to make
sense of them?
Question 4
What are two ways in which it has been suggested that long-term memory
(LTM) and short-term memory (STM) differ or can be distinguished from one
another and what sorts of evidence have been used to support these
suggestions?
7.1.2 Problem solving
The extracts below (paragraphs (e) to (h) are based on the material in Part 4,
Chapter 11 of the DD303 Module Book, Cognitive Psychology (Kaye 20105).
a)
In this section we discuss themes and issues in research on what might
loosely be termed ‘simple’ problem solving, although as you shall see, the
problems used are not always simple to solve. So-called ‘simple’
problems, which do not require extensive background knowledge, are
sometimes known as ‘puzzles’ and have often been used in research as
most participants can attempt such problems within a reasonably short
time. The issue of representation, and the various ways in which
manipulations of problems affect representation, and in turn, problemsolving performance, is very much at the centre of this branch of problemsolving research.
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b)
Simple problem solving began to be studied intensively from the 1910s by
a group of German psychologists known as the Gestaltists. The hallmarks
of the Gestalt approach were the phenomenon of insight, and the view
that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Meaning that the way
the parts of a problem are represented in relation to one another
determines how hard or easy to solve the problem will be (c.f. Perceptual
organization in, for example, the notes of a tune or in puzzle pictures such
as the Dalmatian dog). Insight has famously been labelled the ‘aha!’
phenomenon because sudden restructuring or re-representing of a
problem leading to a solution is sometimes accompanied by vocal
expressions such as ‘aha!’. The Gestalt school particularly emphasized
the role of insight in problem solving. An example can he found in the
story of young Gauss (Hall, 1970) who later went on to become a
prominent mathematician (well known for deriving the formula for the
normal distribution curve). As a young schoolchild, Gauss surprised his
teacher by very quickly producing the correct answer to the sum of all the
numbers from 1 to 100. He gave the answer (5050) not by very fast
mental arithmetic but by noticing a pattern in the number sequence, viz.,
that the numbers form pairs (l+ 100 = l0l, 2+99 = 101, 3 + 98 =101. and so
on). There are 50 pairs and each pair sums to 101 hence the answer is
5050. In this example then a good structuring, or representation, of the
problem, helps considerably.
c)
The Gestalt psychologists also investigated cases where insight was
generally not achieved because participants were trapped by misleading
representations that prevented solution. So-called ‘set’ effects arise when
learned or habitual ways of tackling a problem prevent the solver from
identifying better and simpler methods, or when unwarranted assumptions
are made. Set can be induced by experience with a series of similar
problems. Luchins and Luchins (1959) studied problem sets in a series of
experiments using water jar problems (presented as a pencil-and-paper
exercise). In these tasks participants were asked to say how one could get
exactly a specified amount of water using jars of fixed capacity and an
unlimited source of water, for example:
Given three jars (A, B, and C) of capacities 18, 43 and 10 units
respectively, how could you obtain exactly 5 units of water? The
solution may be expressed as B-A-2C.
After a series of problems with that same general solution, participants
had great difficulty with the following problem:
Given three jars (A, B, and C) of capacities 28, 76 and 3 units
respectively, how could you obtain exactly 25 units of water?
In fact the solution to this problem is quite simple (i.e. A-C) but when this
problem is presented after a series of problems involving the long solution
(B-A-2C) many participants either used the inefficient method, failed to
solve the problem, or took considerably longer to use the A-C method
than did a control group of participants
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d)
A related block to effective problem solving, known as ‘functional fixity’
(also identified by work in the Gestalt tradition) tends to be observed when
an object has to be used in a new way. Duncker (1945) carried out the
classic study of functional fixity using the ‘box’ (or ‘candle’ problem). In this
task, participants were presented with thumb tacks, matches, three small
boxes and three candles. The problem was to mount the candles side by
side on a door, so that they could burn safely. For one group of
participants the boxes were empty but for the other group (experimental
group) the boxes were used as containers and held matches, tacks and
candles. The solution is to use the boxes not as containers but as
platforms and fix them to the door using the thumb tacks. It was found that
the solving rate was much higher in the control group than in the
experimental group. Duncker explained this result in terms of a failure to
perceive the possible function of the boxes when they were presented as
containers.
Question 5
What are referred to in the extracts, as ‘simple problems’ are not necessarily
easy to solve. What is another name for this type of problem and what is it that
leads them to be called ‘simple’?
Question 6
The Gestalt tradition makes much of the notion of ‘insight’ in the process of
problem solving, what do you understand by ‘insight’ in this context and how
does the case of the mathematician Gauss as a young man quoted in the first
extract illustrate the phenomenon?
Question 7
One of the ‘blocks’ identified by the Gestaltists, and experienced by individuals
when attempting to solve simple problems, is known as the ‘set’ effect. How is
this effect manifested and how did Luchins and Luchins illustrate this in 1959?
Question 8
Another ‘block’ to solving ‘simple problems’ was highlighted by Duncker in 1945
and has also been identified within the Gestalt tradition. How is this
phenomenon referred to in the extracts and how does it differ from the notion of
‘set’ effects? How would you summarise the way in which this ‘block’ to problem
solving is illustrated by Dunker’s experiment?
Before moving on to the research Methods and Data Analysis material,
now would be a good point to pause and consider your responses in the
light of the suggested answers in the Appendix (Pages 16 and 17)
7.2 Research methods
As mentioned previously, cognitive psychology takes a largely experimental
approach to research. Below is a description of a fictitious experiment carried
out to examine the effects of alcohol consumption on short-term memory using
the performance of simple mental arithmetic tasks.
Twelve properly informed students who were moderate social drinkers agreed to
take part in the study. They each abstained from drinking alcohol for forty-eight
hours before the experiment. There were four different sets of twenty
mathematical problems, matched for difficulty and the order in which the tests
were completed was counterbalanced.
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Each participant was given a strongly flavoured drink containing no alcohol and
asked to complete one set of problems. They were then given a drink
containing a certain amount of alcohol, after which they completed a further set
of problems, and this was completed twice more. So each participant completed
four sets of problems, one after drinking no alcohol, one after drinking a small
amount, one after a moderate amount, and one after a (relatively) large amount.
Each session was carried out in identical ‘laboratory’ conditions with only one
participant present at a time.
The researchers had hypothesised that the number of correct answers would
decrease as the amount of alcohol consumed increased. They recorded the
number of mental arithmetic questions correctly answered in each testing.
Question 9
This study used a within participant design, what is the principal characteristic of
such designs and in what important way would a between-participant design
differ?
Question 10
The experimenters used four different sets of maths problems carefully matched
for difficulty. What do you suggest that they were they hoping to achieve by
counterbalancing the order of presentation of the four sets of problems?
Question 11
Would you describe the hypothesis as one or two tailed and on what do you
base your decision?
Question 12
What was the independent variable in the experiment?
Question 13
What was the dependent variable?
Question 14
What do you understand by the expression ‘control condition’? Did the
researchers use a control condition in this study and if so what was it?
When you have answered these questions turn to page 18 and check the
answers before going on to the next section.
7.3 Data analysis
After the experiment the data were analysed and the descriptive statistics
shown in Table 1 were obtained.
Table 1
Minimum
correct
answers
11
8
5
3
N
No Alcohol
Low Alcohol
Moderate Alcohol
High Alcohol
12
12
12
12
Table of descriptive statistics
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Maximum
correct
answers
19
18
17
11
Mean
correct
answers
15.00
14.33
10.00
7.08
Standard
Deviation
3.015
3.447
4.651
2.843
Question 15
What do you understand by the term the ‘range of scores’ and what was the
range in the ‘Moderate Alcohol Condition’?
Question 16
What do the mean scores tell us about whether the hypothesis was supported
or not?
Question 17
Why are Standard Deviations useful to us in understanding the data?
The data was also analysed using a one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) and
as part of the process the following ‘Error bar Chart’ was produced.
Error Bar Charts are the way in which we can graphically display Confidence
Intervals. Figure 1 shows the means and the 95% Confidence intervals for each
of the four conditions in the experiment. Each bar shows the mean and the
upper and lower confidence intervals of the mean for one of the conditions.
Figure 1
Error Bar chart
Question 18
Briefly explain what 95% confidence intervals tell us.
Question 19
Considering the 95% confidence intervals depicted in Figure 1 for the No
alcohol and Low alcohol conditions would you conclude that the samples are
likely to be from the ‘same population’ or from ‘different populations’. In other
words, is any difference between the conditions likely to be due to sampling
error (random variation in task performance day on day) or due to the difference
in the level of alcohol consumed in the two conditions: the effect of the
Independent Variable (IV) on the Dependent Variable (DV)?
Question 20
Consider the same points in respect of the 95% confidence intervals depicted
for the Low alcohol and the Moderate alcohol conditions.
Question 21
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Now consider the 95% confidence intervals depicted for the Moderate alcohol
and High alcohol conditions, is any difference likely to be due to sampling error
or the effect of the IV on the DV?
The SPSS analysis of the results produced the following table. The statistic
produced using ANOVA is called ‘F’ and is referred to as the ‘F-ratio’ as it
represents the ratio of ‘error variance’ to variance due to the effect of the IV on
the DV. An ‘F’ value of less than one would mean that there is a greater level of
variance within the sample than between the conditions, an ‘F’ value greater
than one therefore would indicate the opposite. Figures from these table are
usually reported as follows F (df1, df2) = xx.xxx, p< x.xxx. “df1” refers to the
degrees of freedom associated with the independent variable, so in this instance
it would be 3. “df2” refers to the degrees of freedom (df) associated with the
error term, here it would be 33.
Table 2
df
Source
F
3
33
Error
(alcohol)
27.815
Sig.
.000
Table of inferential statistics
Question 22
Bearing in mind that SPSS calculates the actual statistical significance (‘p’
value), labelled “sig” in the table above to three decimal places how would you
express the value here using the convention of showing that p is less than (p<)?
Question 23
Using the highlighted figures (degrees of freedom, F ratio and p value) in Table
2, how would you report, in a simple one-line statement, the effect of the level of
alcohol in this experiment?
You may have realised that the analysis so far will only tell us whether the
amount of alcohol had any effect on performance. We may wish to discover
whether a large amount of alcohol affected performance more than a small
amount, or a small amount had any effect at all. Examination of the error bar
charts gives us an indication, and SPSS has the facility to run further analyses
on the data. You will learn more about this as you study DD303 and generate
your own data.
8. Ethics
Although we do not have the space to discuss ethical considerations in any
great detail here, they are of course very important in research and all
researchers are required to submit project proposals, which are reviewed and
must be approved by ethics panels before they can be implemented. In the case
of the ‘Study of the effects of alcohol consumption on the ability to complete
mathematical problems’ used in this document our fictitious researchers would
have had to go through such a process. As they are fictitious we are not aware
of the information that would have been supplied of the project proposal form in
support of their research. The Methods Companion (Kaye 2010) provides a
detailed consideration of ethical issues confronted by cognitive psychologists,
and you will be required to report on ethical considerations before undertaking
your residential school project.
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Question 24
As a final brief exercise we would like you to consider the information that you
have and using any prior knowledge that you have, comment on any particular
areas that you feel would be of particular interest to the ethics panel when
considering a proposal to carry out this research.
The answers to the questions on data analysis can be found in the
Appendix on pages 18 to 20. Check your answers now.
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Registering on DD303
We hope you have found this booklet useful and that it has given you
confidence to begin your work on DD303 Cognitive Psychology. As mentioned
throughout this booklet, we do not expect you to carry out all the activities here
perfectly – the main aim is for you to judge for yourself how well prepared for the
course you think you are, or how much extra work or revision you need to do.
If you are ready for DD303 Cognitive Psychology, it’s a good idea to register as
early as possible to make sure you get a place on the module. This can be done
in two ways:
• register online at www.open.ac.uk/nextstep
• call our hotline 0870 333 4340 (if you already have an Open University
personal identifier, please quote it when you call)
If, after working through these activities, you are still unsure whether
DD303 is the right module for you, we advise you to seek further help and
advice from a Regional Adviser or from a Social Science Staff Tutor at
your Regional Office.
References
British Psychological Society (2000) Code of Conduct, Ethical Principals &
Guidelines, Leicester, British Psychological Society
Green, A.J.K, and Gilhooly, K. (2010) ‘Problem Solving’ inKaye,H.(Ed.),
Cognitive Psychology The Open University.
Hitch, G. J. (2010) ‘Working Memory’ in Kaye,H. (Eds.), Cognitive Psychology
The Open University.
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Appendix:
Answers to self assessment questions and
exercises
7.1 Reading, writing and comprehension
7.1.1 Extracts from Chapter 5: Working Memory
Question 1
‘Memory span’ is defined here as the ‘longest sequence [of items] that can be
recalled after a single presentation. Miller (1956) cited in Hitch (2010) was
amongst those who had identified that there was a limit of just a few items in the
form of digits, letters, words and so on, that could be retained in immediate
memory.
Question 2
The term ‘transient storage’ relates to the process of keeping track of temporary
information whilst the flow of mental activity continues to operate in order to
complete some cognitive task. An activity like problem solving which almost
always consists of a series of stages leading to a final solution relies for a
successful outcome on the retention in the memory of the cumulative outcome
of each stage. Similarly it is often necessary to consider all the component parts
of a sentence before making true sense of it as we see in the example of
‘garden path sentences’ in Question 3.
Question 3
The example in the extracts of a ‘garden path sentence’ is ‘We painted the wall
with cracks’. Until they reach the very last word of the sentence the individual
hearing or reading the sentence is likely to believe that we going to state the
type, or colour, of paint used and not the condition of the wall, ‘The old man the
boats’ is another often quoted example of a sentence where the first part has
multiple interpretations.
Just and Carpenter (1992) cited in Hitch (2010), suggested that such multiple
interpretations of ambiguous sentences were held in working memory and
provided evidence that a person’s working memory capacity correlated with their
ability to maintain multiple interpretations. This suggestion did not, however, go
unchallenged.
Question 4
It has been suggested that LTM and STM differ in the way the information they
contain is coded for storage. Information in STM being held in an acoustic or
speech based form whereas in LTM information is coded in terms of its
meaning. Amongst the evidence advanced for this is that provided by Baddeley
in 1966 cited by Hitch (2010) that immediate recall of briefly presented words
was poor when the words were phonemically similar (shared the same vowel
sound) but not affected when the words were semantically similar (shared the
same meaning). However when the same words are presented more than once
and recall is tested after a longer period of retention recall was poorer for the
semantically similar words and unaffected by phonemic similarity. Another
suggested difference is that STM is much more labile (unstable) than LTM and
evidenced advanced for this was that the rate of forgetting for rapidly presented
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stimuli was very rapid when compared with that for better learned material
(Brown 1958) cited by Hitch 2010.
7.1.2 Extracts from Chapter 11: Problem Solving
Question 5
What are referred to here, as ‘simple problems’ are what are commonly referred
to as puzzles. They are defined as simple, not because they are easy to solve
but because they require no specialist knowledge to complete. This makes them
very useful for studies into problem solving as most participants can attempt
them without too much preparation.
Question 6
Insight, in the Gestaltist tradition is often referred to as the ‘aha!’ phenomenon. It
relates to the, often sudden, appreciation that representing the problem
differently or restructuring it can sometimes lead to a solution.
The case of young Gauss (Hall 1970 cited in Green and Gilhooly 2010) is an
example of insight in this context. He was able to solve the problem of arriving
at the sum of all the numbers from 1 to 100 very quickly by representing the
relationship between the numbers in a different way.
Question 7
The concept of ‘set’ as a block to problem solving manifests itself when after
being given several problems to solve in a particular way solvers find it very
difficult to solve a simpler problem that requires them to apply a different
strategy. Luchins and Luchins (1959) cited by Green and Gilhooly (2010)
demonstrated this with their ‘water jars’ problem. Administered as a paper and
pencil exercise participants were asked to arrive at particular volumes of water
using as much water as they wished but using only a limited number of jars
each with a different fixed capacity. After solving several problems using the
same general solution participants found it difficult to solve another problem with
a much simpler (1 move) solution usually because they continued to use the
previous (4 move) strategy.
Question 8
The ‘block’ to problem solving referred to by Duncker in 1945 (cited by Green
and Gilhooly 2010) is known as ‘functional fixity’ and whilst this can be seen as
related to the notion of ‘set’ effects there is a subtle difference. ‘Set’ effects are
exhibited when individuals are ‘set in their ways’ applying a particular solution to
a range of problems and consequently find it difficult to adjust to a simpler
solution and thereby fail to solve an easier problem. ‘Functional fixity’ is related
to resistance to using an object in a new way. Dunker used a well-tried problem
asking participants, presented with thumb tacks, matches, small candles and
three small boxes, to mount the candles, burning safely, onto a door.
Participants presented with the items separately were more likely to arrive at the
solution (using the boxes as trays, tacked to the door and holding the burning
candles) than those presented with the tacks, candles and matches inside the
boxes. The conclusion drawn being that having been presented with the boxes
as containers these participants found it more difficult to see them as having an
alternative function.
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7.2 Research methods
Question 9
In within–participant designs each participant takes part in all of the conditions,
this can be useful as fewer participants are required and individual differences
are cancelled out. In a between-participant design different participants take part
in each condition.
Question 10
As this is a within participant design the experimenters would be anxious to
control for ‘order effects’. These would generally be the practice effect, where
the participant becomes more skilful at completing the tasks with practice, or the
fatigue effect related to boredom or fatigue following the completing of a number
of tasks. It would be usual here to counterbalance the order of presentation of
the conditions, but here this is not possible because the conditions rely on an
increasing alcohol level. If all the participants had completed the same maths
test in each condition it would not be clear if any differences were due to
differences in the amount of alcohol consumed or to differences in the difficulty
of the test sets, however carefully they were matched. Counterbalancing the
order of presentation of the test sets across the conditions controls for this.
Question 11
As well as predicting that there will be a difference in performance on the maths
questions in the various conditions the experimenters are predicting the
direction in which this difference will occur. Therefore this is a one-tailed
hypothesis.
Question 12
The Independent Variable is what the experimenters manipulate, in this case
the amount of alcohol consumed in each condition.
Question 13
The Dependent Variable is what is measured in the experiment; here it is the
number of mathematics problems correctly answered by each participant in
each condition.
Question 14
A control condition is used to establish a base-line measurement, against which
the results from the other conditions can be compared. Here the condition in
which no alcohol is consumed would be a control condition.
7.3 Data analysis
Question 15
The range is simply the difference between the maximum and minimum ‘scores’
recorded in the data. In the Low alcohol condition the range maximum was 17
and the minimum 5 so the range was 12.
Question 16
It is important to examine the mean scores as they can tell us if the there is a
difference between the conditions and also if that difference is in the direction
predicted by the hypothesis, however we need to analyse the data beyond the
descriptive statistics to ascertain if such difference(s) are statistically significant.
Question 17
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Standard Deviations (SDs) are useful because, in simple terms they represent
the average amount by which the scores in the sample differ from the sample
mean. The smaller the SD the more representative the mean is of the scores in
the sample. They can also be helpful when comparing means as; for example, if
two samples have similar SDs we know that the means we are comparing are
also similar in the extent to which they are representative of the scores in those
samples
Question 18
Confidence Intervals help us to relate the means of our samples to the wider
population from which the sample is drawn. We can be 95% confident that the
mean for the wider population will fall within the 95% confidence interval. The
95% CI is calculated as being 1.96 standard deviations either side of the mean.
This is derived from the notion of the Standard distribution and that where
scores are evenly distributed around the mean 95.44% of the scores will be
within 2 standard deviations from the mean.
Question 19
There is considerable overlap between the 95% CI for the Control, No alcohol,
condition and that for the Low alcohol condition which would suggest that the
data are likely to be from the same population (with the small difference
between them due to sampling error).
Question 20
As there is no overlap at all between the 95% CIs for the Low alcohol and
Moderate alcohol conditions the likelihood is that the data are from different
populations (due to the different levels of alcohol consumed in each of these
conditions, the effect of the IV on the DV).
Question 21
There is some overlap here which makes it more difficult to state if the
difference in the data of the Moderate and High alcohol conditions is likely to be
the result of sampling error or not. However, as neither of the condition means
falls within the 95% CI of the other there is a possibility that the difference is
again due to the difference in levels of alcohol between the conditions.
Question 22
As SPSS has calculated that p = 0.000 to three decimal places, then we can
state that ‘p’ is less than 0.0005 because if it had been exactly 0.0005 or
somewhere between 0.0005 and 0.001 it would have been rounded up to 0.001
by SPSS (assuming certain programme settings.) So we can say that p<0.0005
although it is more conventional and equally acceptable and correct to say that
p< 0.001.
Question 23
You would write something along the lines of: ‘There was a significant effect of
the level of alcohol (F (3,33) = 27.815, p<0.0005)’.
Question 24
You could have commented on a number of things here most of which, no doubt
our researchers included on their ‘fictitious’ proposal or would have done had
they not been fictitious themselves. Areas that it is important to consider include:
how were the participants recruited? Were they advised that they could leave
the experiment at any time (NB this applies whether or not they were paid for
attending)? Were they fully debriefed after the experiment and were they in a
suitable condition to understand the debriefing? They should, of course be
volunteers and the panel would no doubt want to be assured that as students
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they did not feel under any academic pressure to take part. You might have
considered the ethical propriety of administering alcohol as part of the
experiment. This is a valid area of concern and apart from being assured that
there was a serious intention behind the research, issues like the screening of
participants for health issues and the actual quantities of alcohol involved would
all be considered before ethical approval was granted. The British Psychological
Society publishes the Code of Ethics and Conduct, which include the Ethical
Principles for conducting research with human participants.
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