The Relationship Between Stress and Memory in a Controlled Environment Paul Blinn Elizabeth Jefferson

A Brief Introduction Research existing for relationship between stress and memory –Stelmack, R., Wieland, L., Wall, M., & Plouffe, L. (1984). Journal of Research in Personality. Used four conditions-- confound found in one of the conditions affecting number of correct responses. –Horowitz, M.J., Becker, S.S (1971). Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Participants saw stressful film and non-stressful film. Stressful film caused more intrusive thoughts-- concluded as stress increases, amount of meddling and distress increase.

Intro Cont’d... Research: –Cohen, S. & Lezak, A. (1977). Environment and Behavior. Looked at noise and inattentiveness to social cues as different noise levels. Looked at how noise affected one’s memory. Had a ‘noise’ group and ‘no noise’ group while both were presented with cues. Concluded that subjects in ‘no noise’ group had better memory.

Our Hypothesis!!!! Hypothesis: minimal, moderate, and maximum amounts of stress will decrease memory performance as compared to a control group. Operational Definitions: –Minimal Amounts of Stress: time constraints. –Moderate Amounts of Stress: noise distraction –Maximum Amounts of Stress: Combination of minimal and moderate stress. –Control Group: No stress NOTE: These are all our IV’s.

DV’s There are four dependent variables. –DV 1: Memory of Instructions Task –DV 2: Word Recall 1 –DV 3: Word Recall 2 –DV 4: Long Term Memory Task This is a 1x4 Between-subjects Design.

Memory of Instructions Task

Long Term Memory Task Instructions: Read each of the following questions and answer “yes” or “no” with respect to the word that follows. And follow the instructions at the end of the list. 1. Is the word in capital letters? BOOK 2. Would the word fit the sentence: “I saw a ________ in a pond”? duck 3. Does the word rhyme with SAY? DAY 4. Would the word fit the sentence: “The girl walked down the ____? house

Word Recall 1 –Instructions: Read the following list of words. When you have finished turn the page over and try to write them all down. England, Burma, Greece, Spain, Iceland, Malta, Laos

Word Recall 2 Instructions: Now try the task again with a different list of words. Again, read the words, turn the page over, and write them down. Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Philippines, Madagascar

Method 50 participants: 22 females and 28 males Mean Age= years Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (different stress groups). Participants completed each task individually in the presence of the researchers. Used coding sheets to score correct answers.

Results Word Recall 1 Task: F(3,46)=3.89, p<.05. Word Recall 2 Task: F(3,46)=6.32, p<.01. Long Term Memory Task: F(3,46)=2.29, p>.05. Memory of Instructions Task: F(3,46)=5.00, p<.01.

Results Cont’d... Paired Sample T-Test: –Condition-Word Recall 1: t(49)=-14.43, p<.001. –Condition-Word Recall 2: t(49)=-7.33, p<.001. –Condition-Memory of Instructions: t(49)=-9.32, p<.001.

Line Graph

Discussion Results verify that the less amount of stress that is present in a learning environment, the more material that is likely to be recalled. Results are consistent with literature on noise distraction and memory performance in stressful environments.

Limitations Limitations: the tasks were aimed at university students and above; reading abilities (not everyone is at same level); age as having been out of school for a long time (a lot of older people used in experiment).

Future Research and Improvements Future Research: same general idea (same four conditions) but look at elementary school students with different tasks; because same reading level is not met, use pictures instead of words; use males and females separately and see how they differ in memory across stress levels. Improvements: only use same age people; test people’s reading level and use everyone at the same reading level; better control over environment.

QUESTIONS????