1. Andrade Quick Notes

2. Background
People daydream when something is boring. Arguments about whether doodling takes away resources or maintains arousal

3. Aim
To test whether doodling aids concentration in a boring task

4. Method and Design Lab experiment Independent groups
Counterbalanced for order effects

5. Variables IV-doodling condition or control condition
DV-Monitored information correct, incidental information correct
Also measured: Total number of shapes shaded.

6. Participants 40 participants from Univ. of Plymouth (UK) Aged 18-55
Mostly Female
Randomly assigned to condition

7. Sampling technique
Opportunity sample (were recruited and volunteered, but for different study)

8. Procedure 1. Placed into IV groups
2. Participants in doodling condition asked to shade shapes on A4 paper
3. Control given piece of lined paper and pencil
4. Led to quiet room and tested individually.
5. Misled to believe it doesn’t matter if they remember.
6. Doodlers told that it doesn’t matter how well they shaded.
minute tape, wrote down names
8. Sheet collected and they were talked to
9. Asked to recall names then places, or places than names

9. Data Type
Quantitative

10. Apparatus Mock telephone message and cassette recorder
Shape sheet-10 per row-alternated squares and circles
Lined paper for control group

11. Main Findings Condition Average number of correct names written down
Number of false alarms
Doodling
7.8 (SD=0.4) 1
Control
7.1 (SD=1.1) 5

12. Conclusions
Participants who performed shading task concentrated better than those with no concurrent task.

13. Strengths Reliability-standardized procedures
Validity-Control for extraneous variables
Application-directly applies to school life and can be stretched to other realms as well
Ethics-No real harm done to participants

14. Weaknesses
Generalizability-small sample taken from original volunteers
Validity-Independent groups – possibly participant variables
Ethics-Some deception, though debriefed

15. Ecological Validity
Low due to lab experiment

16. Ethics DR DICH Deception-yes RTW-yes Debriefing-yes
Informed consent-sort of
Confidentiality-Yes
Protection from harm-yes

17. Usefulness
School, work, etc…

18. Relationship to approach
Memory and recall

19. Relationship to Psych Issue
Individual vs situational
Strategy might work differently for different people
But evidence shows that overall positive effect