Name : Irma Ubaid

National University of Modern Languages

Roll number: K8-2008 Bs Applied Psychology 7
Course: Experimental Psychology
Course Instructor: Muntaha Zia
Experiment 1:
Problem statement:
To demonstrate the stroope experiment by designing the stroope effect experiment

Introduction:
The Stroop effect is a simple phenomenon that reveals a lot about how the how the brain
processes information. First described in the 1930s by psychologist John Ridley Stroop, the
Stroop effect is our tendency to experience difficulty naming a physical color when it is used
to spell the name of a different color.

Hypothesis:
The Stroop experiment hypothesized that automatic word reading would interfere with the
controlled task of naming ink colors, leading to slower reaction times and increased errors in
incongruent conditions.

Material:
Multiple papers with colourful and black printouts

Participants:
Stroop's original study involved a relatively small sample of participants, typically around 30
individuals.

Experimental Design:
The Stroop experiment employed a within-subjects design, manipulating the independent
variable of congruency (congruent vs. incongruent) while measuring dependent variables
such as reaction time and accuracy in color naming.

Procedure:
The Stroop experiment involves individuals quickly and accurately naming ink colors of
words, revealing interference between automatic reading and controlled color naming
processes.

Results:
The key finding was the interference effect – slower reaction times and increased errors in the
incongruent condition compared to the congruent condition.
The results of Stroop's experiment demonstrated the interference between automatic reading
processes and the controlled task of naming the ink color.

Conclusion:
Stroop's experiment employed a within-subjects design with participants tasked to name the
ink color of words. The key conditions were congruent (matching word and ink color) and
incongruent (mismatched word and ink color). Results showed interference, with slower
reaction times and increased errors in the incongruent condition, highlighting the conflict
between automatic reading and controlled color naming processes.
Variables:
Independent Variable: Congruency of word and ink color (congruent vs. incongruent).
Dependent Variable: Reaction time and accuracy in naming the ink color.

Reference
What the stroop effect reveals about our minds. (n.d.). Lesley University. Retrieved
December 13, 2023, from https://lesley.edu/article/what-the-stroop-effect-reveals-about-our-
minds
Experiment 2:
Problem statement:
To measure the memory of meaningful and meaningless syllables by using serial or random
recall method

Introduction:
Memory recall or retrieval is remembering the information or events that were previously
encoded and stored in the brain. Retrieval is the third step in the processing of memory, with
first being the encoding of memory and second, being the storage of the memory. Retrieval of
the encoded and stored memory is very important because otherwise there is no point in
storing information

Hypothesis:
The two-stage theory explains the process of recalling a memory. According to this theory,
the first stage in the process of recall is research and retrieval of information from the storage.
The next step is recognition of the correct information from what has been retrieved.

Material:
i, Meaningful Syllables ii, Meaningless Syllables iii, Presentation Format iv, Recording
Device v, Response Recording Tools vi, Consent Forms and vii, Demographics

Participants:
Ensure a diverse sample that represents the population of interest. Consider factors like age,
gender, and educational background. It's essential to screen participants for cognitive abilities
to ensure that they can perform the memory recall tasks effectively.

Experimental Design:
Within-Subjects Design

Procedure:
Learning Phase: Participants would be exposed to a set of meaningful syllables (e.g.,
common words) and a set of meaningless syllables (e.g., non-words) in either a serial or
random order. The order would be manipulated as an independent variable.
Recall Phase: After a delay, participants would be asked to recall the syllables they learned.
Some might be instructed to recall the syllables in the same order they learned them (serial
recall), while others might be asked to recall them in any order (random recall).

Data Analysis: Compare the performance of participants in each condition, looking at factors
such as accuracy and speed of recall.
Results:
This type of experiment could provide insights into how the order of presentation and the
meaningfulness of information affect memory recall. The results of such an experiment
comparing memory for meaningful and meaningless syllables using serial or random recall
methods would depend on several factors, including the characteristics of the syllables, the
encoding strategies employed by participants, and the recall conditions.

Variables:
Independent Variable: The independent variable in this experiment would be the type of
material presented for recall. There are two levels of this variable:
Meaningful Syllables and Meaningless Syllables

Dependent Variables: The dependent variable is the participants' recall performance, which
can be measured in terms of:
Serial Recall and Random Recall

Conclusion:
This type of experiment could provide insights into how the order of presentation and the
meaningfulness of information affect memory recall.

Reference:
Memory recall and retrieval system. (2020, September 7). Ian. https://human-
memory.net/memory-recall-retrieval/
Experiment 3:
Problem statement:
To demonstrate the phenomenon of proactive innovation by using two lists of meaningless
syllables

Introduction:
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus wanted to understand more about why we forget
things and how to prevent it. His research produced the Forgetting Curve – a visual
representation of the way that learned information fades over time (see figure 1, below). [1]
Ebbinghaus experimented with his own ability to remember using a list of nonsense syllables,
which he attempted to recall after different lengths of time.

Hypothesis:
Ebbinghaus did not form a specific hypothesis in the traditional sense for a single experiment.
Instead, he aimed to explore and quantify the nature of human memory through various
experiments

Material:
i, Nonsense Syllables ii, Experimental Lists iii, Learning Trials iv, Time Intervals

Participants:
Hermann Ebbinghaus was the primary participant in his own experiment. He conducted the study on
himself to explore the processes of memorization and forgetting. This self-experimentation allowed
him to control variables and closely monitor his own learning and retention of nonsense syllables
over time.

Experimental Design:
Single-Subject Design
.
Results:
Hermann Ebbinghaus conducted pioneering research on memory, particularly focusing on the
forgetting curve and the spacing effect. One of his most well-known experiments involved
memorizing lists of nonsense syllables and examining how well he could recall them over
time.

Conclusion:
Hermann Ebbinghaus' experiment concluded that the forgetting curve, depicting the rapid
loss of memorized information over time, follows a systematic pattern, with the majority of
forgetting occurring shortly after learning.

Variables:
Independent Variable: Varying the number of repetitions during the learning phase.
Dependent Variable: Memory retention, measured by the number of repetitions required to
relearn the material later.

Reference
MindTools. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved December 13, 2023, from
https://www.mindtools.com/a9wjrjw/ebbinghauss-forgetting-curve
Experiment 4:
Problem statement:
To demonstrate the phenomenon of confirmity by replicating jealous confirmity experiment

Introduction:
The Asch conformity experiments were a series of psychological experiments conducted by
Solomon Asch in the 1950s. The experiments revealed the degree to which a person's own
opinions are influenced by those of a group. Asch found that people were willing to ignore
reality and give an incorrect answer in order to conform to the rest of the group.

Hypothesis:
The hypothesis of Solomon Asch's conformity experiment was that individuals would
conform to an incorrect majority opinion on a simple perceptual task when faced with
unanimous agreement from the group.

Material:
The hypothesis of Asch's conformity experiment was that individuals would conform to a
majority opinion even when it was objectively incorrect in a perceptual task involving line
length comparisons.

Participants:
Male college students recruited as naive participants who were asked to compare line lengths
in the presence of confederates providing incorrect answers.

Experimental Design:
Solomon Asch's conformity experiment utilized a repeated-measures design, with
participants making perceptual judgments in the presence of confederates who gave incorrect
answers on some trials to assess the impact of social pressure on individual conformity.

Procedure:
Participants were asked to match the length of lines, with the critical manipulation involving
the presence of confederates who provided incorrect answers to assess the extent of
conformity to group consensus.
Results:
In Solomon Asch's conformity experiment, participants were asked to match the length of
lines with a majority of confederates giving incorrect answers. The results showed that a
significant portion of participants conformed to the group's incorrect judgments, even when
they were aware of the discrepancy. This demonstrated the powerful influence of social
pressure on individuals to conform to group norms, even when those norms were objectively
wrong.
Conclusion:
The conclusion of Asch's conformity experiment was that individuals often yield to social
pressure and conform to a group's incorrect judgments, even when it goes against their own
accurate perceptions.

Variables:
Independent Variable: The presence of a unanimous majority providing incorrect answers.

Dependent Variable: Conformity, measured by the participant's likelihood to give an

incorrect answer in agreement with the majority.

Reference:
Cherry, K. (2009, February 9). Asch’s seminal experiments showed the power of conformity.
Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-asch-conformity-experiments-2794996
Experiment 5:
Problem statement:
To study the phenomenon of visual illusion with the help of muller lyer illusion cards

Introduction:
The Müller-Lyer illusion demonstrates that identical line segments appear different in length
due to the presence of arrowheads pointing inward or outward, creating a perceptual
distortion influenced by contextual cues.
Hypothesis:
Individuals misperceive the length of lines due to the presence of arrowheads, leading them
to either overestimate or underestimate the actual line length based on the direction of the
arrowheads.

Material:
The Müller-Lyer illusion cards consist of lines with arrowheads pointing inward or outward,
creating a perceptual distortion where individuals misjudge the lengths of the lines due to the
arrowheads, revealing how contextual cues influence visual perception.

Participants:
Individuals exposed to Müller-Lyer illusion cards, experiencing distorted perceptions of line
length due to arrowhead orientations, highlighting visual misjudgments in the context of
geometric illusions.

Experimental Design:
Utilizing a within-subjects design, participants are presented with Müller-Lyer illusion cards
featuring lines with arrowheads, testing the impact of perceptual distortion by manipulating
arrowhead orientations to investigate how visual illusions influence size perception.

Procedure:
The Müller-Lyer illusion involves perceiving two lines with identical lengths as unequal due
to the addition of arrowheads pointing inwards or outwards at their ends, leading to a
misinterpretation of the overall length based on visual cues.
Results:
The Müller-Lyer illusion is characterized by two lines with arrowheads, one with inward-
pointing arrowheads and the other with outward-pointing arrowheads, but both lines are of
equal length. Despite their equal length, people often perceive the line with inward-pointing
arrowheads as shorter than the one with outward-pointing arrowheads. This illusion results
from the brain's tendency to interpret the converging or diverging lines in a three-dimensional
manner, where the line with inward-pointing arrowheads is perceived as farther away,
causing it to seem shorter. The Müller-Lyer illusion highlights how perceptual judgments can
be influenced by contextual cues and mislead our interpretation of visual stimuli.
Conclusion:
The Müller-Lyer illusion demonstrates that individuals consistently misperceive the length of
line segments due to the presence of arrowheads, with participants typically overestimating
the length of lines with outward-pointing arrows and underestimating those with inward-
pointing arrows.

Variables:
Independent Variable: The arrangement of arrowheads in the Müller-Lyer illusion cards.
Dependent Variable: Perception of line length, measured by the extent to which individuals
are influenced by the illusion, perceiving lines with arrowheads pointing outward as longer
than those with arrowheads pointing inward.

Reference:
Cherry, K. (2016, December 6). Müller-Lyer illusion: What do you see? Verywell Mind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-the-muller-lyer-illusion-works-4111110