The problem being investigated is word complexity on memory span. The design used for the experiment is within, due to information to be recognised within one group. For the experiment to take place fourteen undergraduate participants had volunteered. The participants were based in one room using a computer and the software package called PowerPoint. The participants were shown a list of twenty chronological words, ten of simple words and ten of compound words each list contained seven words.
Data was collected from 20 students, The hypothesis of the experiment was rejected by on the basis of the T-test, because it showed no significance in the results hence this suggested that there was no relationship between memory recall and word complexity as t (13) = 0.588, p > 0.05. However, the graph (appendix 5) supported the hypothesis as it showed that simple words were easier to recall than compound words. The main conclusion of the nature of this research is that different type of words affects the span of short term-memory, as there is no null hypothesis as there is no difference.
IntroductionMemory has the ability to retain information or to recover information from previous experiences. The shortest memory storage last for only a fraction of a second. Such sensory memories are considered as an integral part of the process of perceiving. Both vision and hearing then appear to have a later but temporary storage stage which might perhaps be termed short- term auditory and visual memory (Baddeley, 2002). This experiment was based on measuring memory span of simple and compound words.
The Word length effect has a great impact on recall. According to Baddeley (1971), immediate recall for short words was better than that of long words. However it can be suggested that participants recalled simple words quicker than compound words. According to Baddeley (1971), Verbal memory decay over time and fewer long words can be recalled than short words.
It can be noted that for some participants visuospatial was implemented.To quicken the span of recalling some people create images in their minds and then recall. Baddeley ( 1971) found that holding information in temporary memory will help complete a task. In addition the research showed that word complexity played a pivotal role in memory recall, according to Baddeley (2002) compound words have more syllables than simple words and this affected the rate at which the participants were recalling.
Therefore this gives much insight on why the research was conducted, from this research the participants were making use of the memory working model. The participants made use of the phonological loop which is believed to have temporary storage which holds information in some form of traces.Hypothesis: Simple words are easier to remember than compound words.Subjects: 14 participants were selected through an opportunity sample. The participants were all undergraduates above the age of sixteen.
Materials: The materials used a list of 10 compound words and a list of 10 simple words, with each list containing 7 words. At the beginning of each test the participant was given a consent form which required the participants to agree to the terms and conditions of the experiment (appendix 2). Also the participants were then given information detailing what was going to happen during the course of the experiment, standardised and debriefing procedure: the word list which was matched for word frequency and length. Also no word on the list appeared more than once and the list of words was randomised.
In order to conduct the experiment a computer with the software PowerPoint 2007 was used with a stop watch incorporated to insure that each word was shown to the participants at an equal length of time.Design: The type of design used for the investigation is a within subject design. The reason why this particular design was used was to see the difference within one group, rather than two or more. According to the variables, the independent variable was simple and compound words, whereas the dependant variable measured the correct responses on memory span.
Procedure: At the beginning of the experiment, all participants were asked to fill in a consent form. The participant was then informed on the procedure of the experiment. According to the code of ethics and conduct (2006). Before the experiment took place, participants were given a practice test to ease them into the experiment.
The participants were shown a list containing seven words then a blank slide at the end of each list. The participants were then asked to recall the words by repeating the words they saw in the correct order of it being shown to them. This processes was repeated a further nineteen times. Each word was shown for four seconds to ensure validity.
There was a counter balance of the words where the experimenter showed simple words first then followed by compound words. The words were randomised and the participants were asked to recall them, this ensured the recall span of the participants. At the end of the experiment participants were debriefed and given a summary of the purpose of the experiment. The data was collected and evaluated with the use of a paired T-test.Results The results showed two different findings. Firstly when constructed on a bar graph the founding shown that people remembered simple words more than they did compound words.
Whereas on the other hand a paired T-test suggested that there was no correlation between simple words and compound words. Although word complexity was found to have a great impact on recall it can be concluded that compound words reduced memory span among the participants because they were difficult to recall. The hypothesis of the experiment was also rejected by a statistical results on the basis of the T-test, as it shown no significance in the results hence this suggested that there was no relationship between memory recall and word complexity; t (13) = 0.588, p > 0.05 (appendix 4).
Also showing the data input file of the results gathered from the participants.However, the graph (appendix 5) showed that simple words were easier to recall than compound words, thus suggesting that type of words affects the span of short term-memory. According to the Hypothesis simple words does have better recall then compound words.Discussion Although the graph having showed that there is a relationship between simple words and compound words, statistically the hypothesis is flawed because the T-test showed that there is no relationship between memory span and word complexity. This experiment could be improved by using a wider age range between participants and also by using a higher number of participants.
The experiment only made use of the opportunistic sample where participants could take part by chance.Using a wider age range might improve the result by giving a more valid result..However the time taken by the participants in retrieving compound words should have been put into consideration in order to acquire relevant and clear results because some participants found it difficult to retrieve compound words because of the limited time. Another experiment which can be done to measure memory span between simple and compound words might be on finding out if word length effect provides enough evidence for time based decay in short-term memory (Baddeley 2002).
