Memory - Terry (2005)

PROCEDURE

Participants in groups of 15 were shown TV adverts in a repeated measures design. At the end of these adverts, they were asked to recall the products advertised. 

One group was shown immediately, whereas the other was asked after a 3 minute interference task.

The first group showed the serial position curve.

A representation of the serial position curve

Participants in this condition showed both the primacy and recency effect. The high recall at the start of the list is the primacy effect, this shows that the information was retained as they had time to rehearse it, thus transferring it from the STM to the LTM. The high recall at the end of the list is the recency effect, this shows that the information was still in their STM so they could recall it. The dip in the middle is due to the information decaying as it wasnt rehearsed enough, or being displaced by another advert.

As the second condition had an interference task, information would have been displaced from the STM, so they did not show the recency effect. However, they still displayed the primacy effect as they had time to rehearse the adverts at the beginning. 

This study proves the process of rehearsal can aid your memory, and also shows the presence of the STM and LTM. This proves the MSM.

CRITICISMS

1 - It lacked ecological validity

• It was a laboratory style study, so although they could control variables, it cannot apply to the real world.
• Additionally, TV adverts are not viewed in these conditions in real life, as people often ignore them. This is as the experiment was performed in artificial settings.

2 - It only tested memory for TV adverts

• This is not representative of all the things we have to remember
• TV adverts are only a narrow measure of what is being investigated.

3 - It brings about the problem of demand characteristics

• The results may be altered by the participants.
• The participants may have been able to gather clues from the artifical environment and act in a certain way to either help prove or disprove the experiment's desired result.