Sperling (1960) Investigation of the Sensory Register

Question 1

Method

Answer 1

• Laboratory experiment, in which participants were shown a grid with three rows of four letters for 40 milliseconds, they then had to immediately recall either the whole grid, or a randomly selected row indicated by a tone (high, medium, or low) played straight after the grid was shown.

Question 2

Results

Answer 2

• When participants had to recall the whole grid, they only managed to recall four or five letters on average,
• When a particular row was indicated, participants could recall an average of three items, no matter which row had been selected.

Question 3

Conclusion

Answer 3

• Participants didn’t know which row was going to be selected, it could be concluded that they would have been able to recall three items from any row, therefore almost the whole grid was held in their sensory register,
• Couldn’t report the whole grid; the trace faded before they could finish recall.

Question 4

Evaluation

Answer 4

• Laboratory experiment; highly scientifc; variables could be controlled + easy for someone to replicate the study,
• Artificial setting; lacks ecological validity; people don’t typically have to recall letters in response to a sound.