Context Flashcards
What is context in accuracy of memory
Other things that are present at the time of learning act as a cue for recall. This improves the accuracy of memory.
What was the aim of Godden and Baddeley’s study in context
Godden and Baddeley aimed to see if context improved recall. They used ‘underwater’ (wet) and ‘on the beach’ (dry) as the two contexts.
What was the method of Godden and Baddeley’s study in context
18 participants (members of diving clubs)
Divers listened to and recalled 36 unrelated words in the same or different settings:
Same context: dry/dry, wet/wet.
Different context: wet/dry, dry/wet.
Group 1 and 4 were a match the environment acted as a cue for them to recall the words an out after 4 minutes
Results of Godden and Baddeley’s study in context
Recall was highest in the two matching conditions (dry/dry or wet/wet). When a person is in the same environment for learning and recall, their memories were more accurate.
Conclusion of Godden and Baddeley’s study in context
Context of learning acts as a trigger or cue when trying to remember information, and thus improves the accuracy of memory.
Evaluate Godden and Baddeleys study of context
A weakness relates to the research using lists of words.
Research with more complex materials in real life produced better recall and dont show strong context effects, than simple word learning tasks
This suggests that context does not affect memory as much as Baddeley suggested.
A weakness is that the study was unrealistic as participants recalled the words almost immediately.
The short time gap of 4 minutes to does not relate to scenarios like exams where the gap between learning and recall is longer.
Therefore research only tells us a very specific circumstances about short-term recall.
A weakness with context is that it only acts as a cue for recall if the context at the time of learning and recall are very similar.
This rarely happens in real-world situations (Smith).
Therefore, context only improves memory recall in limited situations.
