Please note this is NOT research. To conduct research, you would need IRB certification. This is an educational task to learn about research. For this lab project, we will be conducting an experiment on the relationship between imagery and recall. Research has shown that imagery tends to facilitate memory processes. In this experiment, we will test this idea.
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Design
This lab project will illustrate a two-factor, completely between-subjects experimental design. There are two factors: Instruction Type (Imagery versus Rehearsal) and Word Type (Concrete and Abstract). Hence this experiment is a 2 x 2 factorial. -
Participants
Each of you will be responsible for finding and running four participants (one in each of the experimental conditions). -
Materials
The materials for this experiment will be an informed consent form, the instructions to be read to or by participants (adapt the forms you used in Week 2’s lab), and two lists of words, one consisting of concrete nouns and the other consisting of abstract nouns (see attached lists). Additionally, each participant will be provided with a response sheet. -
Procedure
Participants are to be approached and asked if they would mind taking part in a simple experiment on memory. If the participant agrees, find a quiet place to conduct the experiment. Give the participant an informed consent form, and read the form to him or her. After reading the informed consent form, have the participant sign and date it and return it to you. Next, read to the participant the appropriate instructions, and read the list of word pairs. The list should be read at a rate of one word pair every 15 seconds in all conditions.
After reading the list to the participant, go back and read each stimulus word to the participant, and have him or her write down the appropriate response word on the response sheet. Read the list of stimulus words at a rate of one every 15 seconds.
Note: Each “experimenter” must run one participant in each of the experimental conditions. (So each of you will run a participant in the imagery/concrete words, imagery/abstract words, rehearsal/concrete words, and rehearsal/abstract words conditions.)Follow and complete the attached Lab Instructions Lab Instructions – Alternative Formats . When you are done, write up your experience and report the following in the following format. The words in Bold are the titles to include and the words in italics are the instructions. Do not use the first person or any personage- simply report what design was used. There is no need to include an introduction or abstract as we are only working on these areas at the moment. This is, of course, not the typical way of conducting research, but as noted earlier, this is practice, not research. METHODOLOGY (centered section header- nothing is written in addition to this section title)Design (subheader )
In this section, describe the basic design of this experiment. You should not include the details on procedures, but rather explain the type of design used to run the study. Please see the information on this above and paraphrase this in your own words based on what actually happened when you ran the experiment. Participants (subheader)
In this section, describe the participants included in the study. This typically includes recruitment information, gender, age, and any other information that may help understand who participated in the study (location, for example). Procedures (subheader)
In this section, describe exactly what happened to the participants. This should include enough detail to be able to be replicated. RESULTS (centered section header)In this section, report the results of the experiment. This should not include the *raw* data, but a report on the results. For this experiment, it may compare the percent or number correct by each condition. DISCUSSION (centered section header) In this section, explain or interpret the outcome of the results. As you are not including a literature review, this can be conjecture. Still, avoid using personage and just state the explanation. When you do not cite in an article, we know it was you who is speaking or your interpretation. Qualitative Reflection: Although not part of an experimental research report, in this section write an account of what it was like to be an experimenter. Were there any surprises or unexpected challenges? What did you think of the experience? In this section, you SHOULD use the first person as it is appropriate. .
Upload the report formatted without the instructions along with a blank consent form that you used no later than the end of Week 2, Sunday.
