PSY101 LAB EXPERIMENT

Topic - Recall Performance as a Function of Memory Cues

PSY101L: Introduction to Psychology Lab

Section: 17.

Researcher

Md Shahnewaz Ahmed Shemul

Student ID:

Department of Accounting and Finance,

North South University.

Supervisor

Dr Akib Ul Huque

Department of History & Philosophy,

North South University.

Date: 9th April, 2022.

 Abstract

Theories suggests that absence of cues might result in forgetting, or failure to recall

information. This research aims to experiment whether the theory is right or not. It was

hypothesized that participants would correctly recall more when memory cues were present

than when they were absent and the second hypothesis was that participants would take less

time to recall when memory cues were present than when they were absent. For this study the

experiment was performed on one male participant of 26 years of age. Due to ongoing

limitations, we used the “Zoom” platform to communicate and present him with two sets of

stimuli, one without cues and another with cues. The results we found indicates that our first

hypothesis was correct which is, “the participant recalled more with memory cues present”.

However, the second hypothesis proved wrong as the participant took more time to recall

information presented with cues.

Introduction

Memory refers to the psychological processes of acquiring, storing, retaining, and later

retrieving information. Memory is the ability to store information so that it can be used later

(Feldman, 2019). The information processing model of memory suggests that we are capable

to learn skills, behaviors because our memory enables us to store and automatically retrieve

that information from our memory when it feels the need.

Researchers have proposed a number of theories to explain forgetting. The cue dependent

theory of forgetting suggests that Cue-dependent forgetting, also known as retrieval failure, is

the failure to recall information in the absence of memory cues.

Literature Review

In an experiment from Wong (1978, p. 36). titled, “The Effects of Directive Cues on the

Organization of Memory and Recall in Good and Poor Readers,” they found that poor readers

couldn’t adapt to directive cues as much as the good readers. They also found that poor

readers have performance deficit.

Objective of the Study

The objective of the study was to investigate whether memory cues facilitate the recall of

information.

Rationale of the Study

A psychological theory states about cue-dependent theory. It says that a person might fail to

recall an information when they do not have any cues related to the memory when it was

encoded. With my experiment I will able to study whether the theory presented is accurate or

not.
The study will also allow us to know how big of a role cue has in recall, and that will further

allow more studies to find out ways on helping people recall information more frequently and

efficiently.

Hypothesis of the Study

1. The first hypothesis was that participants would correctly recall more when

memory cues were present than when they were absent.

2. The second hypothesis was that participants would take less time to recall when

memory cues were present than when they were absent.

Method

Participant

A Male participant aged 26 years with no physical, mental or cognitive disability was recruited

for this study.

Materials

The online platform “Zoom” was used to contact with the participant. A link was generated,

which both the researcher and the participant used it to join a virtual room.

The researcher prepared a slide containing two lists of country names with one list containing

memory cues whereas the other didn’t. The first letter of the capital was given as cues and

then those slides were shuffled.

A mobile phone’s stopwatch was used to record the response time.

A datasheet was prepared and kept with the researcher to record the data.
Design and procedure

Single-subject design was used to conduct the experiment.

First, the researcher welcomed the participant, and then provided him with the study

information sheet and gave a brief introduction. Then, when the participant gave his verbal

consent to participate, the researcher started randomly presenting stimuli, that is, country

name with and without stimuli, through sharing the screen. The response time for every

stimulus of the participant was recorded in the data sheet.

Data processing and statistical analysis

Descriptive statistics (e.g., number of correct responses, total and mean response time for

correct responses) were used to draw the results.

Results

Table 1

Number of Correct Recall and Response Time in the Presence and absence of Memory Cues.

Absence of memory cues Presence of memory cues

Country name Correct recall Response Country name Correct Response
time recall time
Sri Lanka (2.3) Yes 03.48 South Korea - -
Iraq Yes 05.70 Germany Yes 2.79
Italy Yes 04.15 Spain Yes 1.86
Thailand Yes 07.68 Australia Yes 6.52
Greece - - Indonesia Yes 2.98
Egypt - - Saudi Arabia Yes 7.93
Mexico - - Maldives - -
Kuwait - - Malaysia Yes 2.80
Bhutan - - Japan Yes 3.28
Iran Yes 4.78 China Yes 1.71
Total Correct 4 14.57 8 29.87
Average Time 3.64 3.73
 Discussion

As we can see in table 1, the total number of correct responses were 12, 4 of them were from

without cues while the participant could answer 8 when presented with cues. The average

response time without cues were 3.64 seconds while with cues were 3.73 seconds.

Since the COVID-19 emerged, the Government announced that all educational institutions

will remain closed until further notice. As a result, we had to adopt online platforms to

conduct the experiment where there could be a bit of network lag which might have affected

the data a little bit.

From our study, it became evident that the participant could recall more answers when he was

given cues related to the answer. The correct responses with presence of memory cues were

as much as double i.e., 8, compared to 4, with absence of memory cues. So, it supports our

first hypothesis that, “Our participants would correctly recall more when memory cues were

present than when they were absent.” This means that if a person is given a hint, then he or

she will be able to remember more contextual information. The result also proves the theory

of forgetting, that is, forgetting may occur because of cue-dependent forgetting, forgetting

that occurs when there are insufficient retrieval cues to rekindle information that is in

memory. (Feldman, 2018, p. 403)

Our second hypothesis was that participants would take less time to recall when memory cues

were present than when they were absent. It proved to be false in our study, since the

participant had less average response time for questions with absence of cues, 3.64
seconds, while questions with cues had average response time was 3.73 seconds. If we look

closely, we can see there are two outliers in questions with presence of memory cues. It can

be due to the fact that cues instigated a vague recall and needed time to properly remember

the answer. The assumption is also backed by the theory of Interference, that, “information

stored in memory disrupts the recall of other information stored in memory.” (Feldman, 2018,

p. 403)

References
References

Feldman, R. (2018). Why We Forget. In Essentials of Understanding Psychology (13th ed.,

pp. 402–403). McGraw-Hill Education.

Wong, B. (1978). The Effects of Directive Cues on the Organization of Memory and Recall in

Good and Poor Readers. The Journal of Educational Research, 72(1), 32–38.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.1978.10885116

Appendix
 Study Information Sheet
Department of History and Philosophy
Title of the Study: Recalling Capital Names

INTRODUCTION
You are invited to take part in an experiment on memory performance. Please read this
information sheet carefully so that you can make an informed decision about whether or
not to participate in this study. If anything is unclear or you have any questions about the
research, you are very welcome to ask me, and I will do my best to provide the
information you need.

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE STUDY?

The present study is part of my Psychology Lab course. The main objective is to
understand how our memory functions.

WHAT WOULD I BE ASKED TO DO IF I TOOK PART?

If you decide to participate in this study, you will be asked to attend a 30-minute study
session. During this time, you will be presented with some small pieces of paper with
country names printed on them. Your task is to write the names of the capitals as soon as
possible. In some trials, you will see the first letter of capital, while there will be no such
hints in other trials.

WILL MY DATA BE CONFIDENTIAL?

Yes, we will manage all of your data in a secure way to ensure that your confidentiality is
protected.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE PART OR IF I

CHANGE MY MIND?
It is entirely up to you whether you take part or not. If you do decide to take part, you are
free to withdraw at any point without having to give a reason.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND RISKS OF TAKING PART IN

THE STUDY?
It is very unlikely that the present research will cause any physical or psychological harm
to you. The experimental procedure is simple and benign and has been used in many
other studies, so we do not expect any harm that might befall you. There are no
monetary or other benefits for taking part in this study.

WILL THE OUTCOMES OF THE STUDY BE PUBLISHED?

The research outcome will be used to write a research report to fulfill the requirements of
the Psychology Lab course. However, the report will not contain your name or address.

WHAT IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG?

We do not expect anything to go wrong. In the very unlikely event that something
untoward does happen, you can contact me in the first instance. You can also contact my
supervisor ([email protected]).

CONTACT DETAILS OF THE RESEARCHER

Name: Afroza Akter. Email: [email protected]. The Department of

Law, North South University.

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY

Consent Form

Title of Study: Recalling Capital Names

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are happy to participate, please complete the consent form below

Please write “Yes”

in the box

1. I confirm that I have read the attached information sheet on the above project
and have had the opportunity to consider the information and ask questions and Yes
had these answered satisfactorily.

2. I understand that my participation in the study is voluntary and that I am free to

withdraw at any time without giving a reason and without detriment to any Yes
treatment/service.

3. I give consent to store my data for use in future studies.

Yes

I agree to take part in the above project

Name: Santa Akter

Signature: Sk Santa

Date: 07-03-2024
 Data Sheet
Name of the experiment: Recall Performance as a Function of Memory Cues

Country name Correct recall Response time (Second)

Sri Lanka (2.3) Yes 03.48

Iraq (3.0) Yes 05.70

Italy (3.0) Yes 04.15

Thailand (3.3) Yes 07.68

Greece (3.3) - -

Egypt (3.7) - -

Mexico (4.0) Yes 09.36

Kuwait (4.3) Yes 04.90

Bhutan (5.3) Yes 03.41

Iran (5.7) Yes 05.15

South Korea-S (2.3) Yes 04.10

Germany-B (3.0) - -

Spain-M (3.0) Yes 03.43

Australia-C (3.3) Yes 05.88

Indonesia-J (3.3) Yes 02.30

Saudi Arabia-R (3.7) Yes 03.65

Maldives-M (4.0) Yes 07.15

Malaysia-K (4.3) Yes 05.93

Japan-T (5.3) Yes 04.33

China-B (5.7) Yes 06.45

Graph 1

Correct Recall
9

0
Without Cues With Cues
Correct Recall

Graph 2

Average Response Time

4

3.5

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
Without Cues With Cues
Average Response Time