An investigation to see the effect of chunking on short term memory recall.

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An investigation to see the effect of chunking on short term memory recall

Contents

Introduction

Background Research

Rationale

Aims

Hypothesis including Null Hypothesis

Method & Design

Variables

Participants

Apparatus

Procedure

Controls

Results

Summary Table

Summary Table commentary

Descriptive Statistics Table

Descriptive Statistics commentary

Relationship of results to hypotheses

Discussion

Validity

Suggestions for improved validity

Reliability

Improving reliability

Implications of study

Generalisation of findings

Applications to real life

References

Introduction

Background Research

Cognition is the activity of internal mental processing. This has been the focus of many psychologists in their studies. It involves the way human minds think, recall and perceive information. Cognitive psychologists the empirical studies below, discuss the evolution of chunking.

Chunking theory, is a technique, which improves performance of recalling. If this technique actively practised or rehearsed, it will help improve retention for the subject. This is achieved by an increase in the knowledge about patterns concerning the task. These patterns are called chunks.

Chunking was first proposed as a model of human memory by a Harvard psychologist called George A. Miller in (1956). Miller's main hypotheses were 'how many digits people could be remember a few minutes after having been told them'. The answer to this hypothesis was: "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two". This meant that a person's short-term memory (which is equivalent to working memory) could hold from five to nine units of information. Miller in 1956,quoted the following statement to support his claims:

"A human requires and organises knowledge of the environment by forming and storing expressions, called chunks. Which are structured collections of the chunks existing at the time of learning"

G. A Miller (1956) the Psychological Review

Chunking theory has a key assumption that each chunk, which is encoded in the brain, is broken into subparts and processed into meaningful units at the same time. This type of learning involves the use of short term and semantic memory. This is the learner is actively processing information. Since the 1960's, cognitive psychologists such as Newell, Shaw and Simon, 1955-60, have drawn comparisons between computers and human thought as both processes involve manipulating information.

Sperling (1960) produced a study into the capacity of short-term memory. Sperlings asked the question if people could visually see more then they could remember. Sperling used 5 participants (which were students) to conduct the experiment. Participants were shown a list of five items consisting of letters and numbers. Each item was formatted in the same font and font size but in different tones .for 50 milliseconds.

The stimulus material (the five items mixed with numbers) was deliberately chosen to prevent participants interpreting the letters as words. Sperling concluded that information is initially held in the sensory store (as did Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)). Sperling suggested that the sensory store has a greater capacity than that for short-term memory, but the information decays very rapidly and is forgotten.

The experiment was performed in laboratory conditions. Hence the experimental conditions indicate that the experiment permits replication because of the high controls. Therefore and has good control of extraneous variables.

The results of the experiment reported that participants typically recalled the letters until were the number is present in the material. This study justifies that the learner during performance creates chunks and that it improves recall.

Simon (1974) conducted a further experiment into chunking theory. Simon established that there is a limit on effect in terms of the size of the chunk. He concluded that there is a shorter memory span for greater chunks.

Bower and Springston (1970) concluded that meaningful chunks such as (FBI) are recalled better then chunks that show no meaning such as (TZP). In order for a chunk to determine meaningfulness, the participant relies on long-term memory. The capacity of long term memory is unlimited.

The idea of phonetic sounds is important. Chase and Simon (1973) adapted Millers theory of chunking and performed a further study in relation to the game of chess. They proved that exceptional chess player would brake down each movement into chunks, which improves their performance.

Rationale

The empirical study outlined in the background research provides a basis for the investigation.

Chase and Simon (1973) findings can be linked to the investigation of the effect chunking in terms of recall. Chase and Simon (1973) found that exceptional players of chess chunked the game into a series of strategies, which improved their performance.

In relation to my experiment these findings can be of use as the learner will develop strategies to chunk the second list of letters, which consists of vowels, and consonants (which incorporate a phonetic sound that enables the letters to be chunked). These phonetic sounds will enable the learner to incorporate the letters into meaningful units, which would improve the performance giving better recall. In comparison to the first list which consists of pure consonants which cannot be chunked
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I would expect the results of a participant based on Millers (1956). "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or minus two" for the participant to hold from five to nine units of information. When using the technique of chunking in the second list.

Aims

To investigate whether chunking a group of phonetically sounded syllables into meaningful units will effect short-term recall.

Hypothesis

A list of consonants with alternate vowels forming phonetically sounded syllables, can be recalled better than a list of letters consonants.

The null hypothesis

There will be no variance ...

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