Psychology
In a study published in the Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, researchers worked on the importance of the prior knowledge before facing the present situations or conditions (Bransford, and Marcia K Johnson 717). Research shows that subjects usually develop semantic thoughts joining the present information and prior knowledge. Therefore, researchers studied the role of prior knowledge and its importance in comprehending the present information. They were trying to show that prior knowledge is not only involved in comprehension but is also necessary for the meaningful information. They also studied the effect of prior knowledge on subjects by manipulating the knowledge and checking the effect on comprehension (718).
In the study, researchers reported four experiments, showing the comprehension ratings as well as recall scores in subjects, when they were supplied with sufficient information before hearing the test passages (717). In the first experiment, subjects were given a material consisting of a passage and pictures. Then they were given a task to hear a tape-recorded passage, and were asked to comprehend the passage and rate the passage whether it was difficult to comprehend, moderate to comprehend, or easy to comprehend. They were also asked to recall the passage after hearing it. After this experiment, researchers found that comprehension ratings and recall were significantly affected by appropriately meaningful context (720). The other three experiments were almost same to the first experiment. However, the conditions were slightly different in those experiments i.e., the other three experiments were made on groups on the basis of Topics given to the participants, i.e. no topics, topic after acquisition of context, and topic before acquisition. Those three experiments showed that prior knowledge of a situation may not help in better comprehension. In those experiments, researchers have not discussed any specific variables (722).
I think researchers have not provided sufficient details in the abstract of the paper having a slight negative impact. Moreover, researchers have not used detailed statistical analysis, and have given results by using simple statistical techniques such as p-value and mean values. However, this paper has provided the work of almost four research papers by illustrating four experiments in sufficient details that is among the positive things of the paper.
Works Cited
Bransford, John D, and Marcia K Johnson. "Contextual Prerequisites for Understanding: Some Investigations of Comprehension and Recall." Journal of verbal learning and verbal behavior 11.6 (1972): 717-26. Print.
Medicine
Psychology
In a study published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, researchers worked on the affect of the exposure of children to film-mediated aggressive models. Before this study, it was already found that children may start showing aggressive behavior after looking at aggressive models in the film. Initially, in the study, researchers hypothesized that exposure of children to film-based aggressive situations or models would increase the chances of their aggressiveness to subsequent frustration in real life. Then they worked on this hypothesis. They also worked on the extent of the aggressive response of children (Bandura, Dorothea Ross, and Sheila A Ross 3).
Researchers divided the subjects of the study, who were children, into three experimental groups and a control group. One group of the study was exposed to real-life aggressive situations or models, so that they would face real-life situations. Second group of the study was exposed to the aggressive models as shown in film. Third group of the study was exposed to a film showing an aggressive cartoon character. In the study, aggressive model used aggression against a doll. After exposing the children to aggressive situations, they were also tested for the amount of non-imitative as well as imitative aggression in different conditions. The control group subjects were not exposed to any aggressive models as they faced only generalized situation. Researchers have not described any variables.
Researchers found that the aggressiveness of children increased on facing aggressive models or situations. Moreover, the level of aggressiveness was different in different subjects depending on the aggressive situation or model they faced, their gender, and the reality cues (3). Boys showed more aggression as compared to girls. Moreover, subjects, who were exposed to male model, showed more aggressive response (8). Researchers also reported that filmed aggression can also change the children’s aggressive behavior (9).
Researchers have sufficiently described their work in the abstract, and clearly provided the context of the study in the introduction, which is one of the positive things in the paper. In the study, researchers worked on equal numbers of boys and girls that is one of the positive aspects of the study, if the results are considered for the effects of aggressiveness on different genders. They have also described the results in detail.
Works Cited
Bandura, Albert, Dorothea Ross, and Sheila A Ross. "Imitation of Film-Mediated Aggressive Models." The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 66.1 (1963): 3. Print.
Medicine
27 April 2016
Psychology
Gibson reported a work on visual perception of motion in the journal Psychological Review in 1954. Researcher noted that perception of motion is same as that of the perception of a color or of any other form of matter. However, it is often difficult to define the stimulus for the perception of motion. Sometimes the movement of the object and sometimes the movement of the background becomes the stimulus. Gibson presented three problems in the paper. Those problems include the perception of vision of the motion of an object, perception of the stability of the environment, and perception of our own self as moving in a stable environment (Gibson 304).
Although experimental studies on the perception of motion by a person are scarce, Gibson noted some experimental devices including the stroboscope, moving belt viewed through a window, the rotating disk with a spiral, the device of producing a shadow of a moving object on a translucent screen, and the device of rotating a disk having spiral lines. Usually, perception of motion was studied with the help of these devices (306). Literature review showed that visual motion is sensory kind of experience that is based on speed and direction. Gibson reported that distinction between the apparent and real motion is often difficult to establish. Moreover, the perception of oneself being moved is dependent on the perception of space in which the person or object is moving. As a conclusion, the researcher noted that movement is a kind of psychophysical concept requiring more research to solve the problems of its perception (314).
There were no variables in the study as it was a kind of review having no specific empirical results. In the start, I don’t like the concept that the paper has no abstract. The paper was actually a kind of systematic review; therefore it had no materials and methods. The researcher has given the introduction of the concept of motion and provided the research problems, but he has not given sufficient illustration of the problem in the start of the paper. It looks more philosophical paper rather than psychological paper. As the paper proceeds, researcher told that motion is a kind of psychophysical issue as, for example, we may consider translatory movement, rotatory movement, rigid motion, nonrigid motion, elastic motion, and discontinuous motion, but he has not used any physical equation to relate the concept of physics with psychology.
Works Cited
Gibson, James J. "The Visual Perception of Objective Motion and Subjective Movement." Psychological Review 61.5 (1954): 304. Print.
Medicine
27 April 2016
Psychology
Roediger, and Kathleen B McDermott published their work on the creation of false memories in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. False memories are those types of memories, which have never happened in reality. In the study, researchers have used almost the same method as used by other researchers about 30 years ago (804).
In the study, researchers performed two experiments. In the first experiment, they provided the subjects with a list of words such as rest, bed, awake, etc., which were closely related to each other, so that the participant of the study would be able to learn them and consider some nonpresent words such as sleep. After the completion of first experiment, researchers found that participants of the study recalled the nonpresented words about 40% of the time, even if it was not present in the presented list of words. Later the participants reported that they were confident about the presence of that nonpresented word in the list. In the second experiment, participants were provided with an expanded set of lists, and were asked later to recognize the words. Researchers found that the false recognition rate was about 55%. As a result, researchers reported that people have a powerful illusive memory, and they may start remembering events that were not actually happened (803). Researchers concluded that single-trial free recall has high chances of false recalls. Moreover, false memories develop in the participants of the study with high level of confidence (809).
Researchers have not described any specific variables in the study. One of the positive aspects of the study is that researchers have openly discussed the relation of the work with the previous studies. They studied the problem of false memory from two different dimensions including false recall and false recognition. They have also provided a detailed note on the explanation of false recall as well as false recognition. They have not only presented the results on false recall but also work on the overall recall and recognition as, for example, they have noted that the process of recall helps in increasing both overall remembering and recognition of presented items, even though they may also result in the recall and recognition of certain related nonpresented items (811).
Works Cited
Roediger, Henry L, and Kathleen B McDermott. "Creating False Memories: Remembering Words Not Presented in Lists." Journal of experimental psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 21.4 (1995): 803. Print.
