A Common Memory Task Is the Classification of Objects into Categories

question 32

Essay

A common memory task is the classification of objects into categories. For example, a table is a piece of furniture; a dog is an animal, etc. This classification capability was used in a recent study of divided attention. College Psychology students were randomly selected and randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: divided attention and no divided attention. Students in the "divided attention" group were asked to memorize a list of 36 words while simultaneously listening to a tape recorder; students in a control group were told to memorize a list of 36 words and did not listen to a tape recorder. Each student was then asked to classify the 36 words into 6 categories. (There were 6 words in each category.) The distributions of the correct number of recalled words / category were approximately normal in each of the groups, and a summary of the data for the words/category recalled are presented below: ​
a) Is there evidence that the memory performance differs in the two groups? Test the appropriate hypothesis using α = 0.05.
b) One possible implication of this study is that high school students should not be dividing their attention by listening to music while studying. What results, if any, of this study would support the contention that students should not be dividing their attention?

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Definitions:

Selective

The process of choosing or making decisions when faced with multiple possibilities or stimuli.

Mate

A term commonly referring to a sexual or romantic partner, but in biology, it also refers to the other member of a mating pair in sexual reproduction.

Cross-cultural Studies

Research designed to compare and contrast cultural effects on various aspects of human behavior and psychology.

Evolutionary Personality Theory

A theory suggesting that human personality traits have evolved to solve recurring problems in human ancestral environments.