Project Description:

As part of my cognitive psychology module in my second year, I was assigned to a group of three to complete an experiment, research study, and 30-minute presentation to convey our findings.

For this assignment, we had control to choose any of the topics we had studied throughout the cognitive psychology module. For our topic, we decided to conduct a research study on memory and recall ability.

Project Title: A between-group study on the effects of diversion of attention on third-level students' recall ability.  

Problem Statement:

Investigate the impact of attention diversion on recall ability through a between-groups study. Explore how participants subjected to attention-diverting stimuli differ in their recall performance compared to a control group, shedding light on cognitive processes and potential implications for memory retention in real-world scenarios.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between attention and memory, exploring key theoretical concepts and frameworks.

• Demonstrate the ability to identify and address potential confounding variables, showcasing a nuanced understanding of experimental design and control mechanisms.

• Through hands-on data analysis, students will develop proficiency in quantitative research methods, enabling them to interpret and draw meaningful conclusions from the collected data.

Learner Outcomes:

From this project, I gained an understanding of each of the following:

• Analysing and interpreting quantitative data collected from the study, drawing conclusions about the relationship between attention diversion and memory recall.

• Evaluating potential confounding variables and implementing strategies to control for them in experimental design.

• Critically assessing existing literature on attention, memory, and related cognitive processes, combining relevant findings to inform the study's conceptual framework.

• Developing effective communication skills to convey research findings, methodological approaches, and implications for real-world contexts.

This study was conducted to examine the effects of diversion of attention on third-level students' recall ability. The null hypothesis states that the diversion of attention will not affect third-level students' recall ability. The alternative hypothesis states that the diversion of attention will have an impact on third-level students' recall ability. 

The current study was designed to test the effects of a diversion task, and subsequently time on third-level students' recall ability. It is hypothesised that the diversion task will have a negative effect on third-level students' recall ability. The independent variable is time. The dependent variable is recall ability. 

Each participant was then given a short comprehension piece and instructed to read through it without talking to other participants. ​

The group was given as much time as necessary and was asked to raise their hand quietly after completing the reading exercise. ​

This was to allow for a wide range of reading levels among participants. Group one was the control group, they read the comprehension and answered four questions without any distractions. ​

Group two was the distractor group; they read the comprehension while wearing headphones and listening to a white noise video from YouTube. Afterwards, they answered 4 questions. ​Neither group was permitted to use the comprehension while answering questions as the experiment was designed to test recall ability.

Summary of Results​

For this study, the researchers examined and compared group 1 and group 2. Group 1 - The experimental group contained 11 participants (Headphones). The control group contained 10 participants (No headphones). 

There were 20 participants in total.​ The experimental group answered 23 questions correctly in total. The control group answered 23 questions correctly. However, the control group had fewer participants and therefore scored a higher mean result than the experimental group.​

Outliers - 1 person in Group 1 answered 1 question, and another person in Group 1 answered 0 questions.​

Experimental group​

The mean correct answer for the experimental group was 2.09.​

The mode was 3.​

The median was 2.​

Control Group​

The mean correct answer for the control group was 2.3.​

The mode was 3.​

The median was 3.​