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 P (the 'similar' condition) were given a list of 15 Python programming commands. They were allowed two minutes to study the list. Another 10 participants in Group Q (the 'dissimilar' condition) were given the exact same list of 15 Python programming commands and also studied them for two minutes.
In Stage 2, the participants in Group P were given a new list of 15 C++ programming commands (similar material) to study for two minutes. Meanwhile, the participants in Group Q were given a list of 15 names of historical British monarchs (dissimilar material) to study for two minutes.
In Stage 3, all participants were given three minutes to write down as many of the original Python commands from the Stage 1 list as they could recall.
Table 1: Number of Stage 1 Python commands recalled by each participant
| Group P (Similar) | Group Q (Dissimilar) |
|---|---|
| 3 | 9 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 4 | 11 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 6 | 12 |
| 2 | 10 |
| 5 | 9 |
| 4 | 11 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 3 | 12 |
In Stage 3 of the experiment, several participants in Group P recalled C++ commands from the Stage 2 list instead of the Python commands from Stage 1.
Use your knowledge of forgetting to explain why this may have occurred.
39 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Forgetting. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.