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How Does The Spacing Of Study Sessions Affect Memory Retention? - Coggle…
How Does The Spacing Of Study Sessions Affect Memory Retention?
Impacting factors
Distractions
Level of focus
Previous knowledge
Difficulty of topic
Research design type
Experimental design type
An experiment in which participants memorise the same A4 page of information in chunks. One group will memorise for 5 minutes, then wait 1, and repeat two more times. The next group will memorise for 5, wait 2.5 and repeat two more times. The third group will memorise for 5, wait 5, then repeat two more times.
Advantages
Researchers have a lot of control over the variables, thus less chance for issues
Allows for a final conclusion to be drawn
Easy to replicate
Disadvantages
Higher chance of human error
Produces artificial results, as it’s conducted in a lab-like environment
Observational design type
An experiment in which the behaviours of students during a revision lesson will be recorded. Later, their test results will be compared to their method of study, looking at the chunks in which they break.
Advantages
Allows researchers to observe in a natural setting
Disadvantages
Not everything can be observed; there will always be things that are missed or can’t be picked up by the researchers
May not collect the results necessary, for example, if no one uses breaks
Qualitative design type
An experiment in which a survey is sent out to students, with questions surrounding their study habits and chunking methods. This will then be compared to their test results.
Advantages
More flexibility in responses
Allows for in-depth ideas from the participants
Disadvantages
The sample size can be a lot smaller than other experiment types
The data is not in numerical values, thus making it harder to compare
Independent variable
The independent variable of the experiment is the time between studying.
Potential variables
1 minute
2.5 minutes
5 minutes
Advantages
There is a variable equal to the study time
There are three variables, which provides more insight into the topic
Disadvantages
May not be enough difference between variables
There is no variable higher than the time for which participants will be studying
Dependent variable
Subjective quantitative: How each participant rated their confidence when entering the test
Advantages
Has a subjective element
Can easily be compared to other participants through numeric values
Disadvantages
Less detailed results that don’t relate directly to the experiment
Objective quantitative: Each participant's test results
Advantages
Can easily be compared to other participants through numeric values
Disadvantages
Doesn’t capture any feelings of participants
Qualitative: Each participant's response to the survey questions (such as how do you feel you are going to perform)
Advantages
Provides an insight into participants’ thoughts and feelings about the study method
Disadvantages
No real way of comparing data, as there are no numerical values
Sample size
Potential issues
There are more females than males in the sample
All these participants are under 18, thus may need parental consent
There is also not that many people, so the data isn’t as reliable as it could be
The sample size would be all of the Year 11 Psychology classes.
Extraneous variables
Participants variables
Gender
Age
Pre-existing mental disorders
Emotional state
Memory quality
Level of sleep
Impact on data
Participant variables are aspects of the participant that cannot be controlled by the researchers
Things such as gender and age could be filtered out so that only 17yo females are tested but then the experiment would be unfair
May impact data slightly, particularly emotional state and quality of sleep
Constant variables
Same room
Same A4 sheet of information
Same resources provided
Impact on data
Constant variables are things that should stay the exact same from experiment to experiment
Everyone should be provided with the same equipment/resources so that the experiment is fair
Situational variables
Outside distractions
The temperature of the room
The light in the room
Any odours in the room
Impact on data
Situational variables are aspects of each particular experiment that may change each time the experiment is run
The light and temperature in the room can change depending on external factors
These variables may impact the data slightly
Ethical considerations
Participants will have the right to pull out of the experiment at any time.
This allows participants to feel comfortable and if this is not the case, they may leave the room at any time,
Participants (or legal guardians) will be required to sign a consent form before participating in the experiment.
This gives them all the information they may need relating to the experiment and should outline any potential dangers/harms.
Participants’ results will be kept private.
This allows participants to feel safe within the experiment and not worry about leaked information.
Post-experiment, the participants will have the experiment explained to them in full detail.
This allows participants to know if they’ve been deceived if the experiment requires them not to know anything.
The A4 sheet shouldn’t have anything that may trigger stress from previous events.
This means participants do not have extra factors such as extreme emotions changing the way they study the fact sheet.