Experiment for Self-reference - Essay Example

For the experimental research study, two groups were tested and the overall results were analyzed and interpreted. The first group of individuals was between the ages of 19 – 29 years old, which were comprised of 18 females with the mean age equaling 21.8 yrs ± 2.5 yrs and 12 males with the mean age of 21.8yrs ± 1.8 yrs. The second group was between the ages of 30 – 50 years of age. This group was comprised of 21 females with a mean age of 36.5 yrs ± 2.5 yrs and 7 males with a mean age of 34 yrs ± 5.8 yrs. Results showed that there was a main effect for encoding (F (1,56) = 117.

9, p < .05). Furthermore, there was greater evidence for Self-reference which scored a mean of 0.75 ± 0.23 and Structure which scored a mean of 0.96 ± 0.09.However, it was found that there was significant interaction (F(2,80) = 20.1, p < .05) with Self-reference. For this part of the study, group one resulted in a mean of 0.82 ± 0.16 while group two resulted in a mean of 0.67 ± 0.27. With this in mind, it was also found that the older age group showed test results with poorer recall scores only with the Self-reference testing.

However, with there being no main effect for age in the results, Self-reference may show more of a generational difference between the two groups as opposed to age-based differences.