An experiment was conducted to investigate how learning related versus unrelated material affects memory retention.
In Stage 1 of the study, 10 participants in Group X (the 'similar' condition) were given a list of 15 botanical names of plants. They were allowed two minutes to study the list. Another 10 participants in Group Y (the 'dissimilar' condition) were given the exact same list of 15 botanical names and also studied them for two minutes.
In Stage 2, the participants in Group X were given a new list of 15 botanical names of flowers (similar material) to study for two minutes. Meanwhile, the participants in Group Y were given a list of 15 capital cities (dissimilar material) to study for two minutes.
In Stage 3, all participants were given three minutes to write down as many of the original botanical names from the Stage 1 list as they could recall.
Table 1: Number of Stage 1 botanical names recalled by each participant
| Group X (Similar) | Group Y (Dissimilar) |
|---|---|
| 4 | 9 |
| 3 | 11 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 6 | 12 |
| 3 | 9 |
| 5 | 11 |
| 2 | 10 |
| 6 | 13 |
| 4 | 11 |
In Stage 3 of the experiment, several participants in Group X recalled botanical names from the Stage 2 list instead of the Stage 1 list.
Use your knowledge of forgetting to explain why this may have occurred.
Practise AQA A Level Psychology Forgetting with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 39 questions, matched to the AQA A Level Psychology (7182) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
