Defining Auditory and Visual Short-Term Memory - Lab Report Example

Psychology Report Abdulrahman PSYCHOLOGY REPORT Introduction Memory is the faculty via which the mind is able to store information and rememberit through a process that involves encoding, storage, and retrieval of information (Andrade, 2008). During encoding, the externally-sourced information reaches the senses as physical and chemical stimuli, requiring alteration for it to be encoded. During the storage stage, information is retained for specific time periods. The third stage, retrieval, involves locating stored information and returning it to one’s consciousness. The multi-store model suggests that memory is made up serial stores; sensory, short-term, and long-term memory, and that information flows between these stores. Short-term memory can either be auditory or visual in nature, depending on how information is received by the senses. The differences between auditory and visual short-term memory have been the foundation of numerous research studies in the last fifty years. While it had been assumed that short-term memory is essentially an auditory process, recent studies show that the visual process is just as important (Murdock & Walker, 1969). This has resulted from discoveries that there are dissimilarities with regards to recall ability demonstrated by auditory and visual short-term memory. The aim of the current study is to find out whether there are variations between auditory and visual short-term memory in the accuracy of correct information recall. The overall objective of the investigation will be to measure how much information is saved in the participant’s brain. From the study by Murdock & Walker, it is certain that there are characteristic differences between auditory and visual short-term memory. This study set out to investigate the amount of information saved or forgotten when it was received through both listening and reading. In addition, the capacity for the subject to hold either auditory or visual information was also observed. This study was carried out under a directional hypothesis that information capacity with regards to retention and retrieval will be enhanced when received through both listening and reading, while worse retention and retrieval capacity will be discovered in the reading process. A directional hypothesis was best, as it would predict the path or direction of difference between auditory and visual memory, which will allow for the study to make a correlation between the two. Methodology Design: A controlled lab experiment to investigate how much information was retained when a student read information, heard information, or heard and read it was conducted. A lab experiment was chosen because it was establishes cause and effect of auditory and visual short-term memory, allows for precise variable control, is replicable, and yields quantitative data for statistical analysis. However, this method limited behavior by controlling the situation, while the participants knew the purpose and requirements of the experiment. The independent groups used had the major advantage of reducing chances of carryover effects, although it required more participants. The independent variable for this study was the group, whether auditory, visual, or audio-visual. The dependent variable was the short-term capacity for information recall and retrieval. One confounding variable expected to be encountered was distractions from activities occurring outside the room. The participants in each group were informed of the experiment’s objective, which was to measure the number of questions correctly remembered in the text. Participants Twelve participants aged between 17 and 25 were selected by opportunity sampling among classmates and friends from the foundation course. They were divided into three sub-groups of four participants each by drawing lots. Materials For the different groups, the experiment will use story papers that will either be read or handed out as in appendix I. In addition, the participants will also be given question papers to fill out as in appendix II. The experiment will also require the use of consent forms, appendix III, and debriefing forms, appendix IV. To this end, all participants were requested to read the instructions first. Procedure All participants were sent a reminder text to ensure they were available for the experiment. Before the experiment began, they were all asked to sign a consent form. The experiment consisted of three groups. The first group will only be required to listen to the text, followed by a fifteen-minute test related to information in the text. This was to test the short-term capacity of the auditory memory in this group. The second group was given the text to read for ten minutes, after which they also got a question paper related to information in the text for fifteen minutes, testing visual memory. Finally, the third group was to listen to the text and read it then get a fifteen minute-long question paper to test how much information they remembered. This was to test the combined visual and auditory memory for the group. After each of the tests was complete, the participants were given debriefing forms. Results The results of the experiment were recorded as follows; Median Short Term Memory Capacity for Different Groups Group I (Listening only) Group II (Reading only) Group III (Both listening and reading) Wrong answer 3 1 5 Right answers 3 5.5 4 Do not remember 5.5 3.5 1.5 The table above shows median number of questions answered wrongly, correctly, or not remembered for the three groups (Appendix I). The results show that participants in the reading-only condition remembered more of what they saw on the text. The listening only group remembered less of what they had heard, even more so than the listening and reading condition. Recall and retrieval capacity was low for the listening-only condition, although listening only group also had a low recall capacity with the most participants unable to remember what they had read and heard, while recall capacity was low for the reading-only condition with most number of wrong answers. Comparison of Short term Capacity for the three groups The table shows the number of questions participants answered correctly as remembered from listening to, reading, or both listening to and reading the text. The information was recalled better in the reading-only condition with 23 correct answers, compared to twelve for the listening only condition and 13 for the mixed listening and reading condition (appendix II). In addition, recall and retrieval capacity was low for both the listening only condition and the mixed listening and reading condition with 6 and 19 wrong answers respectively, compared to only 3 for the reading only condition (appendix II). Discussion The results of this experiment reject the hypothesis given at the beginning that, information is better remembered if it is received through both auditory and visual means. When information is visually processed, it is converted to usable form by the brain’s visual receptors (Andrade, 2008). Unlike what was assumed in the beginning, while the group that listened and read the text seemed to give the most definitive answers, most of their answers were wrong. Visual short-term memory is the one with the most accuracy, compared to auditory memory or combined visual and auditory memory. The duplication of information by the auditory and visual receptors could have resulted in confusion for the students required to retrieve information after reading and listening to the story, which could be a reason for the few correct answers given by this group. However, when the same information is received through auditory receptors, the process of cognition is interpreted as a mere repletion and is quickly passed on. According to Andrade (2008, p. 45), there is “a clear variation between auditory and visual reception of information”. Because the group is the independent variable, portending the biggest effect on the participants’ ability to recall information, it is evident that the group that read the text was able to recall the information more accurately. It is evident from the results that, there is marked inferiority with regards to the auditory memory process compared to visual memory recognition for the task. However, according to Rattat & Picard (2012), long term memory is not necessarily impoverished depending whether information is received via auditory or visual means. Clearly from the experiment, several forms of auditory memory in the long term did enable some of the participants to identify some of the stimuli they were provided with in the question paper. The results also seem to show that information received visually is quickly available for further recognition. This aspect of the short-term memory is what seems most lacking in the auditory process. One reason that could explain this difference in recall between auditory and visual objects is that visual objects tend to be more memorable in comparison to auditory objects, which could be an effect of either in their psychophysics or physics. Rattat & Picard also offer another explanation, contending that there may be “fundamental differences in the size of auditory and visual memory processes” (2012, p. 34). From the experiment, it would seem that auditory memory is smaller or structurally different to visual memory, which is evidenced by the apparently lower short-term capacity of the participants in the listening only condition compared to the reading only condition short-term memory. Simply, it is possible that individuals lack the capacity to remember instantly numerous auditory objects if presented in rapid succession, however, memorable they may be. Whichever the case, the results bring one to the conclusion that visual objects are more memorable than sounds. This experiment has several implications. While short-term memory has log been held as a function of auditory processes (Rattat & Picard, 2012), the experiment shows that short-term memory is also a function of the visual process. This was apparent from the ease with which participants in the reading group remembered information from the text. There could also be other explanations for these results, such as the participants being better at learning through the visual process most of the time. For instance, where the participants were given the text to read, the brain immediately began to process information through cognitive operations. Rattat & Picard (2012) contend that this is allowed by the chance to produce two forms of memory; repletion or mental images for use in recall. Since there is a chance that the participants had a tendency towards visual learning, this experiment should be repeated with primarily auditory learners. References Andrade, J. 2008, Memory. London, Routledge. Murdock, BB & Walker, KD 1969, Modality effects in free recall. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour. 8(5), 665-676. Rattat, A & Picard, D 2012, Short-term memory for auditory and visual durations: evidence for selective interference effects. Psychological Research. 76(1), 32-40. Siegel, AW & Allik, JP 2013, A developmental study of visual and auditory short-term memory. Pittsburgh, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. Appendix I Listening-only Group Participants Correct Wrong Do not remember 1 3 - 7 2 4 2 4 3 3 4 3 4 2 - 8 Median 3 3 5.5 Reading-only Group Participants Correct Wrong Do not remember 1 8 1 1 2 5 - 5 3 6 1 3 4 4 1 4 Median 5.5 1 3.5 Listening & Reading Group Participants Correct Wrong Do not remember 1 5 3 2 2 4 6 - 3 - 5 5 4 4 5 1 Median 4 5 1.5 Appendix II Short Term Memory Capacity for Different Groups Group I (Listening only) Group II (Reading only) Group III (Both listening and reading) Wrong answer 6 3 19 Right answers 12 23 13 Do not remember 22 14 8 Read More