Serial Position Effect Assignment Report: A Partial Replication of Murdock’s Memory Experiment

Task:

Undertake a partial replication of a simple experiment – the serial position effect. You should write your report based on the data collected during one of the lessons. You will turn in a research report.

Research Report Format:

• Adhere to the 7th edition APA style guidelines.
• Use double-spacing with either 11-point Arial or 12-point Times New Roman font.

Additional Considerations:

• Consult a minimum of 5 academic journals and/or reference books to support your research.
• A plagiarism check is required.

Report Structure: Your report should include:

Title Page

• Include title, your name, course name, lecturer’s name and due date in APA format.

Abstract

• Provide a concise overview of the research, including the aim of the research, method, results, and conclusions. Limit the abstract to 150-200 words.

Introduction

• Briefly introduce the topic and explain the significance of the research.
• Conduct a literature review of the background and key theories.
• State your hypothesis and provide a rationale for your predictions.

Method

• Participants: Describe the characteristics of your sample.
• Materials: List the survey instrument or other materials used to collect the data.
• Procedure: Provide a step-by-step description of what was done.

Results

• Present the quantitative results, using appropriate statistical analyses.
• Include tables or figures to illustrate key findings.
• Highlight any trends or patterns observed in the data.

Discussion

• Interpret the results in relation to your hypothesis.
• Compare your findings with previous research.
• Describe the limitations of your study and suggest areas for further research.
• Conclude by summarizing the main findings and implications of your research.

References

• Use APA format to cite all sources referenced in your report.

Appendix

• Include the survey questionnaire and the raw data collected.

Details on Data Collection (to be done in class with the lecturer)

The serial position effect is a cognitive phenomenon where people tend to remember the first and last items in a list better than those in the middle (Murdock, 1962). This effect is broken down into two components: the primacy effect (better recall of items at the beginning) and the recency effect (better recall of items at the end). Words in the middle are less likely to be remembered. It provides insight into how memory works, especially in terms of short-term and long-term retention.

In this study, we aim to replicate the serial position effect by conducting an experiment in class. This experiment will involve four rounds of word recall tasks. The lecturer will read each word list aloud, presenting one word every 2 seconds. After the last word in each word list is read, you will have 1 minute to write down as many words as you can recall from the list, in any order. This process will be repeated for all four rounds, with each word list read only once per round.

After completing the recall task, you will identify the position of each word you remembered correctly (e.g., whether it was the 1st, 2nd, etc.) and submit your results to your lecturer. Your lecturer will compile the data for the entire class and provide you with an excel file containing the collective results.

Reference: Murdock, B. B. (1962). The serial position effect of free recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64(5), 482–488.

Data Collection Sheet

Age:

Gender:

Write down the number of words (out of 4) you got right for each serial position.