Research Korner

Sample Questionnaire: Accounting Thesis

Survey Questions The questionnaire will test the quality of the accounting based on the assessment of the Egyptian accountants. The following are the presentation of the rate and their equivalent representations: [5] Excellent [4] Above Average[3] Average[2] Below Average[1] Extremely Poor1)The application of the IFRS in the manner of practice is [5] [4] [3] [2] [1]2)The changes implemented is   [5]  [4]  [3]  [2]  [1]3)The consistency of its application is [5] [4] [3] [2] [1]4)The validity of IFRS in Egyptian accounting is[5] [4] [3] [2] [1]5)The reliability of IFRS in Egyptian accounting is[5] [4] [3] [2] [1]6)The accuracy of data in IFRS in Egyptian accounting is[5] [4] [3] [2] [1]7)The credibility of the accounting information is [5] [4] [3] [2] [1]8)The contribution of IFRS in improving the knowledge in accountancy is[5] [4] [3] [2] [1]9)The compliance on the professionalism and judgment is[5] [4] [3] [2] [1]10)The approach in coping with the uncertainties is [5] [4] [3] [2] [1]Interview:1)In what ways the culture influences the accounting practice? 2)What are the significant changes appeared in the country’s accounting practice?3)In understanding the impact of environmental factors such as the culture on the accounting practice and financial disclosure, how important is it to move towards the international accounting harmonization? 4)Using the IFRS in organizations accounting treatment and financial disclosure, how important is it to ensure the comparability of international financial reporting?5)What are the legal and political that should be addressed that might substantially influence the standard development of accounting principles? 6)What is the focus of the country (socialism or capitalism)?7)Does the applied accounting practice of Egypt is patterned from the other nation’s accounting practice? If there is, what are the legal differences between them?8)What are the measurements applied in disclosing the financial information at a country level?9)What are the benefits did the organization/nation received in applying the IFRS in the accounting system? What are the drawbacks?10)Is there any recognizable sign of improvement in the accounting profession?

Sample Questionnaire: Accounting Thesis

Survey Questions The questionnaire will test the quality of the accounting based on the assessment of the Egyptian accountants. The followi...

GRASPING THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

GRASPING THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Table of Contents Introduction.. 3 To grasp the sociological perspective…... 4 … to see the world in a new light.. 5 As your angle of vision changes…... 6 … no longer do things look the same.. 8 The taken-for-granted may take on an unfamiliar hue.. 9 Conclusion.. 10 References.. 10   Introduction Society is seen through different realities. The subjective outcomes of these realities intimate the multifarious views of people founded from their individual encounters and the respective circumstances surrounding them. It is for this same reason that the ensuing behaviours of individuals appear to be highly influenced by these social realities. The study of sociology attempts to make sense of all these reactions and ensuing behaviour coming from these social realities. In the same manner, it seeks to determine the elements that drive these as they relate to both the common individual and society as a whole. The use of the sociological perspective allows the common folk to view the world in various lenses. It seeks to explain how these realities tend to be mere superficial and a gamut of other truths lie beneath this jagged surface. Following this line of reasoning, one recognises the fact that in order to make out the actual social constructs of society, the sociological perspective should be employed. Nonetheless, the problem is that based on numerous lectures on self and society, there are certain perspectives, from the classic to the post-modern principles of sociology, that appears highly polarised with each other. The question remains whether these diversities carts off the realities behind the use of a sociological perspective.    To grasp the sociological perspective… Arguably, the central implication of grasping a sociological perspective is the apparent shift from the mundane and mediocre to the highly intuitive and critical way of thinking. The existing paradigms and theories bestow tools that will assist them in understanding society through “different lenses.” (SOCY1002 lecture, 27/2/2008) For instance, the social institution for education is often related to the systems of pedagogy and the acquisition of learning required for a better future. In using the sociological perspective, one realises that that interpretation forms a part of various analysis of education as a social institution. As discussed throughout the course, educations could be viewed in a pessimistic and optimistic fashion. For the former, education may be regarded as a form of social control which limits the individual to stray away from the conventional. On the other hand, education is also regarded optimistically as a form of increasing human capital. By these interpretations, it shows the implications of the social institution to certain groups in society. Social lenses on these educational theories tend to explain why certain groups of people regard this institution the way they do. For those who regard education as human capital, its acquisition equate to skills and knowledge which are investments for the near future. (SOCY1002 lecture, 12/03/2008) It allows learners and students to access opportunities certain areas of the labour market. On the other hand, the pessimistic view on education as a means of social control essentially points to the “marginalisation of those who think differently.” (SOCY1002 lecture, 12/03/2008) This perspective explains the behaviour certain subgroups that resist the educational system. In the same light, this regard on education translates to the stagnation of human development. It perceives education as a golden cage where everyone inside appears comfortable but will never really achieves the complete and extensive development that they seek. … to see the world in a new light Without the emergence of sociological thought, it is likely that the potential of certain social patterns and social structures may have yet maximised. Fortunately, the forefathers of sociology have taken the initiative to “see the world in a new light.” (SOCY1002 lecture, 04/05/2008) The most renowned sociological thinkers like Weber, Marx and Durkheim provided the theories that were form the foundation of today’s sociological thought. These are examples of individuals who have used sociological perspectives to interpret the social problems that they have encountered during their time. For instance, Marx took on the issues evolving on the political, cultural and economic manifestations of Europe. (Hassard and Rowlinson, 2000, 85) It is in these regard that his most respected social structure emerged: communism. (Peterson, 1994, 377) On the other hand, Weber viewed society as a result of modes of production and the consequent motivations of men underlying it. (Swedberg, 2003, 283) This forms a building block of the current views on sociological thought, particularly the need for the common person to identify with society and understand it without delving too much on common sense but thought an intensively sociological perspective. Durkheim, on the other hand, viewed society as a product of the amalgamation of all the functions of the elements present in society. (Thompson, 2002, 20) It intimates that society will not be able to exist without the presence of a collective conscience that will define its identity.       As valuable as the theories that Weber, Durkheim, and Marx provided is their explanation on the reason why social problems exists. For instance, Weber looks at a certain flaw in society as an accrual of all social processes that contributed to the actual social problem. This entails that social problems are accumulated from years of experience. On the other hand, Marx regards social problems as an outcome of the marginalisation of a particular social class. More specifically, conflict in society is viewed by Marx as an offshoot of existing inequalities based on class. On the part of Durkheim, he sees social conflict as a functional part of society. This means that the effects of such conflicts may address certain issues on some other parts of society. In any case, the use of the sociological perspective allowed these thinkers to create something out of the social realities that they have encountered during their lifetime. As a result, it gave the following generations the familiarity and understanding on these aspects of society.     As your angle of vision changes… Human experiences are relative to historical and social events on which a person encounters. This is the premise of the sociological imagination proposed by Mills. (SOCY1002 lecture, 27/2/2008) This theory of Mills encourages the person to navigate the realities of society by understanding the relationships between their individual encounters and the social structures implicated by historical forces. These historical forces may include elements of culture and norms of the community. (SOCY1002 lecture, 06/05/2008) In using the sociological imagination, it allows the person using it to constantly view certain aspects of the present society with reference to the old ones. In this manner, development of new ideas through critical thinking allows the possessor of the sociological imagination to constantly determine changes that will fit the existing social structures. In the context of understanding the self and society, Mill’s theory allows the possessor of the social imagination to consider the private individual experiences and personal issues are actually linked with the structural arrangements of society. In addition to that, it allows the possessor to relate these elements with the social construction of time. (SOCY1002 lecture, 04/03/2008) In the same manner, it explains to the possessor of the sociological imagination the realities and reasons of the existing social constructs. With reference to the social constructions of time, it was initially a taken-for-granted element of society. (SOCY1002 lecture, 04/03/2008) However, with the recent trends towards efficiency and effectiveness, time has been equated to financial returns and thus increased value in the past centuries. In the end, as the angles of vision of the individual changes using the sociological imagination, his/her regard of the world expands. This is because he/she is no longer limited to the internal factors that contribute to his/her personal issues. He/she can view certain problems as a result of certain social realities and allows the possessor of the sociological imagination to determine such and address the bigger picture. … no longer do things look the same Through the use of the sociological perspective and the sociological imagination, what people originally perceive as normal often reflects a considerably different image. For instance, the common sense view note technology as equated with advancement and development. However, to an individual using a sociological perspective or the sociological imagination, technology could be seen in both pessimistic and optimistic fashion. In effect, these individuals realise that there are some part of society that show “ambivalence” towards technology and not as a form of advancement. (SOCY1002 lecture, 09/04/2008) This is the same with the issue of music. Normally, musical genres are categorised based on their “popularity.” (SOCY1002 lecture, 07/05/2008) To a common individual, this may be the case. However, with the use of the sociological perspective or the sociological imagination, one realises that “popularity” in the field of music is relative. Musical genres do have certain followers and are deemed popular in their own rights. The sociological perspective allows a person to veer away from being a mere cultural dope, leave their comfort zones and come to appreciate other genres. Studies on this matter realise that concurrent to the changes made in the environment, so as the shift of the common musical listener to high brow tastes. Social backgrounds become progressively less material in relations to musical tastes.     The taken-for-granted may take on an unfamiliar hue With the sociological perspective, even the most mundane would be seen differently. For instance, the ubiquity of water tends people to regard it as a taken-for-granted element in their daily lives. However, history has ordained the presence of water as a coordinate of development, modernity and wealth. (SOCY1002 lecture, 28/05/2008) This is apparently accurate because aside from being an element of consumption, bodies of water tends to aid food production, leisure, water catchment, and even energy generation. This shows that the scarcity of such resource tend to reflect the economic standing of certain states and societies as seen in barren African territories. Thus, using the sociological perspective, the element of water is seen as a resource and possible a solution to the issues encountered by certain states. Another mundane element that is often neglected and regarded as common is food. The sociological perspective, food is now regarded as a commodity. (SOCY1002 lecture, 30/04/2008) Particularly, on the lenses of the public, it has become an item to be bought; and on the part of the big corporations, an item to be sold. Studies even relate modern food as a reflection of modern living: fast paced and standardized. (Fearn and Graham, 2005, 305) This is seen primarily in the emergence of the fast-food industry and the increasing dependence of the public to their products. Conclusion Society is, in no way, a dreary subject to mull over. It is never static. It is an intricate set of elements that defines the human condition. It is, as Mills (SOCY1002 lecture, 27/2/2008) called as second hand worlds. It is in the use of this sociological perspective that the meanings of these worlds are made out and how it defines the overall behaviour of society. This shows the relevance of using the sociological perspective in everyday thinking. It shows the practicality of doing away with common sense and other forms of conventional thinking. In a sense, it allows people to realise that there is no other choice but to move forward in this “tight-wire” called life. (SOCY1002 lecture, 04/05/2008) It reminds people that recognising that there are better and more effective ways to exist. This is seen in the numerous sociological theories and paradigms honed by sociologists like Weber, Durkheim, and Marx. Their quest to explain the existing social realities and to the manner on which society operates explicitly shows the use of the sociological perspective. It manifests a desire to find better ways of dealing with these realities and attempted to explain how certain groups of individuals react. The existence of these different views on sociology essentially presents its relevance as it provides the priceless pledge to have a firm grasp on the realities of society. References Fearn, H., Graham, H. (2005) "Corporate Reputation: What Do Consumers Really Care About?". Journal of Advertising Research. 45(3)305-313 Hassard, J. and Rowlinson, M. (2000) “Marxist Political Economy, Revolutionary Politics and Labor Process Theory.” International Studies of Management & Organization. 30(4) 85-111 Peterson, P. (1994) “Karl Marx and His Vision of Salvation: The Natural Law and Private Property.” Review of Social Economy. 52(3)377-390 Swedberg, R. (2003) “The Changing Picture of Max Weber's Sociology.” Annual Review of Sociology. Volume 29 p283-306 Thompson, K. (2002) Emile Durkheim. Routledge. London.

GRASPING THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

GRASPING THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Table of Contents Introduction .. 3 To grasp the sociological perspective… ... 4 ...

Research Proposal: Role of Cultural Factors in Explaining Differences in Applying IFRS by Accountants in Egypt

Major Question: Gray (1988) applied the Hofstede’s model to identify the four accounting values arising directly from prevailing social values. However, most of the accounting researchers agreed that the impact of culture on financial reporting is vague and potential misleading (Sawani, 2009). Apparently, Gray never placed into an operation the hypotheses or conducted empirical tests to support the framework (Finch, 2006). And since Gray left his framework to the accounting researches, there is a great opportunity to prove or test its validity. As the major question in the study, how cultural factors (as preferred by Gray (1988) as accounting values) affect accounting practice or manner of accountants in application of IFRS standards in Egypt?Minor Question: What is the most suitable accounting standard setter (government body or profession accounting body) as perceived by the Egyptian accountants? Hypotheses:Gray argued that the behavior or the culture and economy of one nation should according to his framework. Therefore, Egypt as a socialist and developing country should portray in statutory control, uniformity, conservatism, and secrecy (Dahawy & Conover, 2007). Therefore:H1: Egyptian accountants are more likely to value statutory control Is there any preference from Egyptian accountants to select other then mandated accounting methods in case other methods fit company situation better? H2: Egyptian accountants are more likely to value uniformity  What influences application of particular accounting method or measurement practice? H3: Egyptian accountants are more likely to value conservatism  What influences distribution of the certain types of accounting information to outsiders? H4: Egyptian accountants are more likely to value secrecy What are the evidences pertaining to the secrecy policy of the Egyptian organizations?Methodology  The method that will use in the study is through the research survey and interview. The survey data can be effectively collected which are based on the questionnaires developed and validated by focus group of industry experts. The sample size of the participants is 50 and the mode of answering the questionnaire will be on Likert Scale. This is for the aim in determining the impact or influences of the accounting practice among the Egyptian accountants. In addition, this is a great opportunity to describe the perception, as well as the impression it gives towards their nature of work of the accountants regarding the IFRS and the hypothesis of Sydney J. Gray (1988). In the phase of the interview, the accounting bodies such as the accounting department head and government accounting manager were asked regarding the preferable accounting practice. This is the best time to draw the connection between the four hypotheses of Gray (1988) regarding the Egyptian accounting practices. Statistical Method for Hypothesis Testing The applied statistical method is T-test which gives an indication of the differences or separateness of the two sets of measurements. It is also used to check whether the set of measures are essentially different.  References:Dahawy, K., & Conover, T., (2007) Accounting Disclosure in Companies Listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, Middle Eastern Finance and Economics [Online] Available at: http://www.eurojournals.com/mefe%201%20art1.pdf [Accessed 16 July 2010]. Finch, N., (2006)Towards an Understanding of Cultural Influence on the International Practice of Accounting, Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies [Online] Available at: http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/09175.pdf [Accessed 16 July 2010]. Sawani, A., (2009) The Changing Accounting Environment: International Accounting Standards and US implementation, Journal of Finance and Accountancy [Online] Available at: http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/09206.pdf [Accessed 16 July 2010]Other Sources:Gray, S.J. (1988) “Towards a Theory of Cultural Influence on the Development of Accounting Systems Internationally” ABCUS May: 1-15 Ramanna, K., & Sletten, E., (2009) Why do Countries Adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?, Harvard Business School [Online] Available at: http://areas.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/Accounting/Documents/RS_IFRS.pdf [Accessed 16 July 2010].

Research Proposal: Role of Cultural Factors in Explaining Differences in Applying IFRS by Accountants in Egypt

Major Question: Gray (1988) applied the Hofstede’s model to identify the four accounting values arising directly from prevailing social val...

Essay Instructions on Course Research

PSY2040 Human information processing Faculty of Science Department of Psychology Introductory book Table of contents Page Course specification Welcome to the course 1 Course staff 1 Course resources 2 Textbook 2 Web sites 2 Additional reading/multi-media 3 Course structure 3 Introduction to the course 4 Objectives of the course 4 Previous knowledge 5 How to succeed in this course 5 Support 6 Types of enquiries 6 Types of support 6 Residential school 7 USQConnect 7 Course discussion group 8 Course evaluation 8 Study schedule 9 Assessment 10 Assignment rationale and objectives 10 What happens when things go wrong 10 Assignments – background 12 An example 13 Examination 15 Assignment 1 17 Readings for assignment 1 23 Assignment 2 25 Course specification Description: Human Information Processing Academic group: FOSCI Academic org: FOS005 Student contribution band: 1 ASCED code: 090701 STAFFING Examiner: Liam Hendry Moderator: Tony Machin REQUISITES Pre-requisite: PSY1020 and (PSY2100 or STA2300) or Students must be enrolled in the following Program: GDPS RATIONALE Perceptual, attentional and memory processes play a vital role in our daily life and a well functioning and well integrated perceptual and cognitive system is something that most of us take for granted. Most of us only notice these systems when they begin to fail. However, the true importance of these systems becomes very apparent when a massive breakdown is observed. For example, life is relatively difficult for people who suffer partial or total blindness or deafness. Children with attentional deficits experience daily problems. Elderly people with Alzheimer's Disease show the devastating effect of breakdown in the memory system. In short, deficits in our perceptual, attentional and memory systems have severe impacts upon a normal lifestyle. This course is designed to provide a good understanding of normal perceptual and cognitive processes. SYNOPSIS The course starts with a revision of visual and auditory sensation that was covered in Foundation Psychology B. The course builds upon this material by examining visual and auditory perceptual processes and associated brain structures. Following perception and attention, the course deals with behavioural approaches to learning before examining more cognitive approaches to learning. Memory over short retention intervals is then examined with an emphasis upon working memory. Finally the course looks at the factors involved in producing long-term memories. OBJECTIVES On completion of this course students will be able to: i 1. a rudimentary knowledge of structures in the areas of sensation, perception, learning and memory (Examination); 2. skills in conducting and reporting experimental research in these areas (Assignments 1 & 2). TOPICS Description Weighting (%) Sensation: The Visual System Structure of the Eye and Retina 8.30 and the Visual Pathways 1. 2. Perception: Visual Functions - Edges, Changes and Acuity 8.30 Visual Pattern Perception - Shapes, Spatial Frequency & Gestalt 8.40 Laws 3. 4. Distance and Size Perception - 3D from 2D and Illusions. 8.40 5. Motion - Real and Illusory Movement 8.30 6. Perception: Sound - Auditory Perception - Music and Speech 8.30 7. Attention 8.30 8. Learning: Classical Conditioning 8.30 9. Learning: Operant Conditioning 8.30 10. Short-term Retention: Short-term memory 8.30 11. Short-term Retention: Working memory 8.40 Long-term Memory: Encoding and imagery, retrieval, 8.40 organisation and practice 12. TEXT and MATERIALS required to be PURCHASED or ACCESSED ALL textbooks and materials are available for purchase from USQ BOOKSHOP (unless otherwise stated). Orders may be placed via secure internet, free fax 1800642453, phone 07 46312742 (within Australia), or mail. Overseas students should fax +61 7 46311743, or phone +61 7 46312742. For costs, further details, and internet ordering, use the 'Textbook Search' facility at http://bookshop.usq.edu.au click 'Semester', then enter your 'Course Code' (no spaces). CD-ROM highly recommended but not compulsory  2002, PSY2040 Human Information Processing, (Part 2: Attention and Memory, Pearson Education Australia, Sydney. (Sourced from Ashcraft,  2002, Cognition 3E, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River)) 2002, PSY2040 Human Information Processing, (Part 1: Sensation and Perception, Pearson Education Australia, Sydney. (  1997, Sensation and Perception, 4th edn, Allyn & Bacon, Boston.)  1997, Exploring Perception, Brooks/Cole, Pacific Grove, CA. REFERENCE MATERIALS Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience. 1995, Mystery of the Senses Series - Hearing, Green Umbrella Ltd, Washington. 1995, Mystery of the Senses Series - Vision, Green Umbrella Ltd, Washington. 1998, Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind, Norton, New York. 2002, Sensation and Perception, 6th edn, Brooks/Cole, Pacific Grove, CA.  2007, Biopsychology, 6th edn, Pearson, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA.  2004, Cognition: Theory and Applications, 6th edn, Wadsworth/Thomson, Belmont, CA.  2004, Sensation and Perception: An Intergrated Approach, 6th edn, Hoboken, NJ.  1997, The Brain: Our Universe Within, Discovery Channel, Bethseda. (Video: two tapes, four programs)  1996, The Graphic Brain: Neurophysiology, Didactic Systems, Pacific Grove, CA. (ISBN: 0-534-34036-9)  1989, Discovering Psychology: Program 7 - Sensation and Perception, WGBH Boston in association with the American Psych, USQ Library, Toowoomba. (AV152.1 Dis) STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS ACTIVITY HOURS Assessment 22.00 Examinations 2.00 Private Study 141.00 ASSESSMENT DETAILS Description Marks out of Wtg(%) Due date ASSIGNMENT 1 70.00 15.00 27 Aug 2007 ASSIGNMENT 2 70.00 30.00 01 Oct 2007 END S2 (see note 1) 2HR RESTRICT (M/C) 70.00 55.00 EXAMINATION NOTES 1. Examination dates will be available during the Semester. Please refer to the examination timetable when published. IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION 1 Attendance requirements: iii It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. 2 Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily: To complete each of the assignments satisfactorily, students must obtain at least 50% of the marks available for each assessment. 3 Penalties for late submission of required work: If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval then a penalty of 0% of the total marks available for the assignment will apply for each working day late. 4 Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course: To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% in the examination and at least 50% of the available weighted marks for the summative assessment items. 5 Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade: The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the weighted aggregate of the marks (or grades) obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. 6 Examination information: In a Restricted Examination, candidates are allowed to bring only writing and drawing instruments into the examination. Students whose first language is not English, may, with the Examiner's approval, take an appropriate non-electronic translation dictionary (but not technical dictionary) into the examination. Students who wish to use a translation dictionary MUST request and receive written approval from the Examiner at least one week before the examination date. Translation dictionaries will be subject to perusal and may be removed from the candidate's possession until appropriate disciplinary action is completed if found to contain material that could give the candidate an unfair advantage. 7 Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held: No supplementary examinations will be given. Deferred examinations will be held during the examination period at the end of the semester of the next offering of this course. 8 University Regulations: Students should read USQ Regulations 5.1 Definitions, 5.6. Assessment, and 5.10 Academic Misconduct for further information and to avoid actions which might contravene University Regulations. These regulations can be found at the URL http://www.usq.edu.au/corporateservices/calendar/part5.htm or in the current USQ Handbook. ASSESSMENT NOTES 9 The due date for an assignment is the date by which a student must despatch the assignment to the USQ. The onus is on the student to provide proof of the despatch date, if requested by the Examiner. 10 Students must retain a copy of each item submitted for assessment. This must be produced within five days if required by the Examiner. 11 Access to email, discussion groups and the internet is a departmental requirement. I expect you to open your university provided email account and check it regularly for personal communication. Information sent this way will be regarded as being receivable. [Note, other accounts often have more limited sized mail boxes, are not accessible when the USQ external connection is down and may not always remain open throughout your candidature]. iv PSY2040 – Human information processing 1 Welcome to the course This course is being co-taught by two people, which does not often happen in undergraduate courses in psychology at USQ. The examiner for the course is Dr Liam Hendry and he is assisted by fellow lecturer, Dr Malcolm Mills. Liam is located in W110B and Malcolm in W422C. If you are in the neighbourhood feel free to drop in. If you want to get in contact with us please read the information in the Support section. Course staff Dr Liam Hendry Dr Hendry holds the degrees Bachelor of Science (Psychology), Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Doctor of Philosophy, all attained at USQ. For the last few years, Liam has been teaching into the USQ Psychology courses PSY1020 Foundation Psychology B, and PSY2040 Human Information Processing. Liam completed his PhD in the research area of Short-Term Memory, where the word-length effect was re-examined from a processing perspective, and his findings from that study have been published in the journal Memory. He is currently researching a new paradigm for testing short-term memory. When not doing Psychology, Liam’s other interests include archaeology, car restoration, and motor sport. Dr Malcolm Mills The best way to contact me is via the Study Desk Mail feature. My office is W422C on level 4 of W block. I’m available during my consultation times, and I have other times available by appointment, when you can visit (groups encouraged), or telephone: call (07) 4631 2975. Otherwise for students in Australia, the recommended contact is Outreach Services: (07) 4631 2285, or email <outreach@us.edu.au>. For overseas students, the International Office is: 617 4631 2362 or email <iosupport@usq.edu.au> – and these people can organise assignment extensions and exam deferrals for you. (Please note the ‘Other requirements’ section on the Course specification.) General academic questions, which can benefit everyone, are much better asked on the discussion group. This saves me answering the same question umpteen times, and lets me post general information immediately. If you encounter any problems with your enrolment or the electronic resources refer first to the Distance Education Student Guide. 2 PSY2040 – Human information processing Moderator Dr Machin is a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), the APS College of Organisational Psychologists, the International Association for Applied Psychology (IAAP), and an international affiliate of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Course resources Textbook You will note that we have requested that you buy two texts for the course: one dealing with perception and one dealing with attention and memory. We have used custom books to ensure that we have included only those things we consider to be important. This should save you time in knowing that we expect you to read the chapters contained in the text, and it should save you money, in that we are not requiring you to buy two complete text books each of which you would only have to read a certain percentage. Web sites Both text books come with companion web sites. Sensation and Perception: www.ablongman.com/matlin Attention and Memory: www.prenticehall.com/ashcraft Course Site: www.usq.edu.au/course/material/psy2040 This web site contains a number of means of evaluating your knowledge and also provides some other links. We have referred you to this site for self assessment activities. Dr Tony Machin is a Senior Lecturer and the Undergraduate Coordinator in Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia. Dr Machin has a PhD from the University of Southern Queensland (awarded in 1999) on the topic ‘Understanding the process of transfer of training in the workplace’. Dr Machin has 30 refereed publications in the areas of: evaluating the transfer of training in the workplace, the impact of training courses on levels of well-being in the unemployed, management of fatigue in long-distance driving, and organisational climate and absenteeism. Dr Machin has taught Psychology Research Methods B, Industrial and Organisational Psychology, and Organisational Behaviour at the undergraduate level, Psychology Applied to Current Issues and Personnel and Organisational Psychology to Honours students, and Group and Organisational Principles to postgraduate students. PSY2040 – Human information processing 3 Note that both the print and electronic resources offer valuable learning resources, in the form of alternative explanations, summaries, practice activities and/or explanations of key terms. We encourage you to make use of these features, and to use the electronic discussion group to raise any queries. Additional reading/multi-media You have a book of readings associated with modules 7, 8 and 9. You will need to read this material as directed in the study book. The course specification also indicates a number of other sources of information that might be useful to you. There seems to be a lot more multi-media available for perception than is the case for memory and attention. We recommend that you take some time to examine some of this material. Malcolm has indicated which activities on the recommended CD-ROM are relevant for the various modules. Course structure Part 1: Sensation (taught by Dr Malcolm Mills) 1. Sensation: The Visual System Structure of the Eye and Retina and the Visual Pathways. Part 2: Perception (taught by Dr Malcolm Mills) 2. Perception: Visual Functions – Edges, Changes and Acuity. 3. Visual Pattern Perception – Shapes, Spatial Frequency and Gestalt Laws. 4. Distance and Size Perception – 3D from 2D and Illusions. 5. Motion – Real and Illusory Movement. 6. Perception: Sound – Auditory Perception – Music and Speech. Part 3: Learning (taught by Dr Liam Hendry) 7. Attention 8a. Learning: Classical Conditioning. 8b. Learning: Operant Conditioning. Part 4: Memory (taught by Dr Liam Hendry) 9a. Short-term Retention: Short-term memory. 9b. Short-term Retention: Working memory. 10. Long-term Memory: Encoding and imagery; Retrieval, organisation and practice. 4 PSY2040 – Human information processing Introduction to the course Welcome to the course! As its name suggests, the content of this course deals with issues associated with the processes by which humans take environmental information and process it in a way that allows them to function within that environment. The structure of the module would suggest that there are three aspects of the human information processing system that are independent of one another and that processing occurs serially. That is, items are put through the perceptual system, attention is then paid to certain stimuli and these stimuli wind up in different memory stores. Many text books tend to present information in this way, but it is incorrect. Perception, attention and memory are intrinsically involved in all the research that we are going to be considering in this module, and they are inseparable. What is going to happen in each section is that a particular section will be examined as though the other components were working normally. For example, when talking about perception, the assumption is going to be made that attention is paid to the stimuli and that there are no problems in memory. Likewise when we deal with memory we will assume that there have been no problems in perception and that attention has been fully paid to the memory stimuli. So while we will consider perception, attention and memory as separate entities, they are critically intertwined in any cognitive episode. The course also intends to continue the development of your research skills. At the undergraduate level, particularly in the first two years, the primary skill development issue involves doing psychological research. If you are following a standard enrolment pattern, you will have already completed Data Analysis and will probably have completed Research Methods A. (If you have not completed either of these courses, you are going to have major difficulty with assignments for the course until you have at least completed Data analysis.) Thus, one of the other aims is to develop your research skills in being able to analyse data and write it up according to standard procedures in the discipline. The content of the course builds upon material that was initially taught in PSY1020 Foundation Psychology B and it provides information that will be essential in some of the third Level electives such as PSY3040 Individual Differences, PSY3080 Human Factors and PSY3090 Physiological Psychology. The research component allows you to show that you can apply the research skills that you have acquired in STA2300 Data Analysis, PSY2100 Research Methods A and PSY2010 Social Processes of Behaviour. Objectives of the course There are two key objectives that we have for students who attempt to do this course. Successful students will have: • developed organised knowledge structures concerning the fundamental structures and processes that underpin Perception, Learning and Memory • developed skills in analysing experimental data and reporting such data in an appropriate scientific manner. PSY2040 – Human information processing 5 Previous knowledge We are expecting that you will have already completed PSY1010 Foundation Psychology A and PSY1020 Foundation Psychology B. The material in this course builds directly upon the material in PSY1020, particularly the sections on sensation/perception, learning and memory. We also expect that you have done PSY2010 and STA2300. The assignments are aimed at developing your research skills and writing skills, particularly with reference to APA style. You will have had an introduction to APA style in Foundation A & B, and in Social Processes. You will also have developed some rudimentary statistical skills in Data Analysis. We want you to combine and use those skills in both the assignments in this course. Thus if you have not done PSY1020 and either STA2300 or PSY2100, drop from this course immediately. You will find it difficult to pass the course if you have not done these two courses. How to succeed in this course Let us spell out the criteria for success in this course. Obviously, to pass the course you have to meet the two main objectives of the course. Operationally, this involves me rating your efforts on three pieces of assessment (two assignments and an exam) and then assigning some number that reflects our assessment of your competence. Using this operational definition of meeting the course objectives we will use the numbers in accordance with USQ guidelines. We would like to give you some suggestions as to how to succeed in this course. The thing you must aim for is complete understanding of the material. If you understand the material and understand the relationships between the material, your ability to remember specifics will be made easier. The way to test for your understanding of the material is to see the extent to which you can generalise your learning to new situations. So you can expect a fair proportion of your exam questions to be in the form of ‘Here is a situation that we haven’t specifically dealt with before: given your understanding of the principles involved, what do you predict should happen?’ You should concentrate as much on the structure of the module as on the information contained therein. Each module tries to tell a cohesive, logical story. Try to put time into capturing the essence of each module. Try to work out how various aspects of the module are related to each other. You will find in module 10 that there is evidence to suggest that an understanding of structure leads to better recall of detail. All throughout the course, we are going to be making assertions of one type or another. One of the things I stress, and tend to examine, is your knowledge of the evidence that backs up these assertions. For example, in module 9 I will make the assertion that working memory is limited in capacity. I will expect that you can provide some evidence to back up this assertion. In this case it would entail describing an experiment that demonstrates the limited capacity of working memory. Thus, in the second section in particular, know your experiments and what they prove. The module objectives are very important in that the exam questions will be assessing your ability to meet these objectives. To this extent we recommend at the end of each module that you write a paragraph on each of the module objectives. The ease with which you can do this will give you an indication of your mastery of the content. 6 PSY2040 – Human information processing Support Types of enquiries You have access to a wide variety of support services at USQ. Follow the details below or visit the ‘Current Students’ website at <http://www.usq.edu.au/currentstudents/default.htm> for more information. General enquiries USQAssist is the most efficient method for requesting assistance for: • administrative queries • assignment submissions • study assistance • contacting your lecturer. Technical enquiries Enquiries relating to access to USQConnect, the USQStudyDesk, or other technical issues can also be directed to USQAssist. If you cannot access USQAssist, contact the Student IT HelpDesk on +61 7 4631 1510 or email <usqconnect@usq.edu.au> for assistance. The Student IT HelpDesk is staffed weekdays between 8.00 am and 5.00 pm (AEST-Australian Eastern Standard Time), with voicemail after hours. Types of support There are a number of ways of accessing support services. Online support USQAssist is a web self-serve facility for you to: • find answers to common questions at any time • ask any question • track the progress of your question • keep a record of questions and responses. To access USQAssist go to <http://usqassist.usq.edu.au> or click on ‘USQAssist’ in USQConnect. Telephone support If you prefer to telephone, call Outreach Services on 07 4631 2285 for assistance. Outreach Services is staffed weekdays between 8.00 am and 5.00 pm (AEST), with voicemail after hours. If you are located in Eastern Australia, contact your Regional Liaison Officer. International students telephone the USQ International Office on +61 7 4631 2362, or your Agent. USQ International is staffed weekdays between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm (AEST), with voicemail after hours. PSY2040 – Human information processing 7 Fax International students fax the USQ International Office on +61 7 4636 2211. All other students fax the Distance and e-Learning Centre on 07 4636 1049. Postal address The Administrator Distance and e-Learning Centre University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba Qld 4350 Australia Residential school An optional residential school will be run during the mid-semester break. While attendance is not obligatory, we suggest that you attend if at all possible. Check the Residential School Website at http://www.usq.edu.au/residentialschools for information you require to attend campus, including registration for classes, timetables, accommodation, meals and social activities. USQConnect USQConnect provides you with online access to information, services and course resources relevant to your studies from a convenient, central point. To access USQConnect, from the USQ home page at <http://www.usq.edu.au> click on USQConnect, or go directly to the URL at <http://usqconnect.usq.edu.au>. You will require your USQConnect username and password to access the system. You will be notified of this username and password on your first Letter of Offer or Enrolment Notice. Study Desk Your Study Desk in USQConnect gives access to a home page for every course in which you are currently enrolled. Content available from the course home page will vary according to the teaching requirements of the course, but may include: • course materials and resources • electronic discussion facilities. As each course has specific learning requirements, availability of these features will vary between courses. 8 PSY2040 – Human information processing USQAdmin USQAdmin, also accessed through USQConnect, allows you to access a number of administrative functions such as changing your contact details, checking your enrolment details, accessing learning circles, checking final grades, viewing your exam timetable, changing your exam centre, and more. Other links USQConnect also gives access to the Library and the Academic Learning Support site, as well as the Quick Links list of University sections and services. Course discussion group What do I expect of you? Please note the following key points: • post courteous and polite messages at all times • think before you submit • keep your message concise, to the point and post in the appropriate discussion thread • please check spelling to ensure your meaning is clear • avoid posting messages which may be offensive to individuals or groups. Basically, send the kind of message you would like to receive and enjoy being a participant! What can you expect of me? I will endeavour to encourage discussion and to facilitate your learning throughout the semester by frequent and relevant input to discussion. Focus issues: • discussion of issues relevant to assessment • clarifying issues and confirming your understanding of key concepts • checking that you are on the right track to meet course objectives • discussing theoretical perspectives and their relevance in experimental research • networking with other students. Course evaluation Feedback from students studying USQ courses is very valuable to the university. Each semester, certain courses are selected for student evaluation. If a course that you are studying is selected for evaluation you will receive an email message requesting your feedback. The email will include the link to the electronic survey form and give directions for its completion. PSY2040 – Human information processing 9 Study schedule Week Module Activity/Reading Assessment 1 23–27 July 1: Sensation: the visual system Matlin & Foley, ch. 3 Begin assignments 2 30 July – 3 August 2: Perception: the basic visual functions Matlin & Foley, ch. 4 3 6–10 August 3: Visual pattern perception Matlin & Foley, ch. 5 4 13–17 August 4: Distance and size perception Matlin & Foley, ch. 6 5 20–24 August 5: Motion: real and illusory movement Matlin & Foley, ch. 8 6 27–31 August 6: Perception: sound – auditory perception – music and speech Matlin & Foley, ch. 11 Assignment 1 (15%) Due: 27 August 2007 7 3–7 September 7: Attention Ashcraft, ch. 4 8 10–14 September 8: Learning (classical) Selected reading 8.1 9–10 17–28 September RECESS/RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL 11 1–5 October 8: Learning (operant) Selected reading 8.2 Assignment 2 (30%) Due: 1 October 2007 12 8–12 October 9: Short-term memory Ashcraft, ch. 5 Selected reading 9.1 13 15–19 October 9: Working memory Ashcraft, ch. 5 Selected reading 9.1 14 22–26 October 10: Mnemonics and long-term memory Ashcraft, ch. 6 Selected readings 10.1, 10.2, 10.3 15 29 Oct – 2 Nov REVIEW 16–17 5–16 November EXAMINATION PERIOD (2 hour, restricted exam, 55%) 10 PSY2040 – Human information processing Assessment There are three components to the course: two assignments and an exam. Assignment rationale and objectives These assignments are designed with a number of aims and objectives. The first is to give you a vehicle by which you can demonstrate your understanding of the study material. In the following assignments you will get a detailed look at some components of the course and you will be expected to become familiar with theory and assumptions of theory. The process involved in these assignments should give you a feel for the way in which research is done in this area. Thus, the first objective is that you develop your theoretical understanding of human information processing. As a second aim, I want people to realise that we do not get you to do three courses of statistics just to irritate, annoy or perhaps torture you. The stats are a tool that the research psychologist uses to evaluate questions of interest. Consequently, I want people to become more familiar with the ins and outs of experimental research and being able to use the tools of the trade appropriately. Thus, both assignments require that you analyse research data and then present it in a way that is normally found in journal articles. If you progress to fourth year you will have to show competence in this area in your thesis, so it is as well that you get some practice in now. These sections should conform to APA style. You will already have had to do this type of exercise before so it should not be too difficult or strange. What happens when things go wrong 1. Supplementary exams There will be no Supplementary Exams for this course. Make sure you pass it the first time. 2. Deferred exams Deferred exams will be held at the end of semester 2 next year. Thus, if you request a deferred exam, it will be held in 12 months time. 3. Assignment extension policy (for both on campus and external students) The university has a policy of a three-week turn around for assignments, and with over 300 people doing this course this year, marking the assignments quickly is somewhat difficult. I try very hard to meet this deadline. I usually have markers, marking criteria and model answers prepared so that markers can commence marking as soon as assignments arrive. The markers also know that they have certain periods when they will be expected to spend a lot of time marking and they plan their time accordingly. With these things in mind here is the assignment policy that I adopt. Assignment 1: 15% Assignment 2: 30% Exam: 55% PSY2040 – Human information processing 11 1. Providing you submit you assignment on time we will get it back to you within three weeks of receiving your assignment. 2. I know that assessment is difficult for most external students, so I am prepared to grant an extension of one week without people having to apply. But 3. In handing your assignment in late, you forfeit your right to a return within the three weeks. You may still get it back quickly but you may not. In fact, if it is late there is no guarantee that you will get it back before the end of semester. The markers give marking a high priority for the marking period, but it takes a lower priority after that. (They have other commitments as well) 4. If you require an extension for longer than this, you would need to send me an e-mail. Again, late submission means that you may not receive your assignment back as quickly as you would like. 5. No assignments will be accepted once marking criteria and feedback sheets have been returned to students. 6. I will not answer any questions about the assignment after the due date. Note, those students who send things in early, will not receive their assignments back any earlier than if you send it in on time. There is nothing to be gained by sending assignments in early – in fact, you may miss out on important last-minute information. My policy on students working together All the texts on educational psychology suggest that one of the most powerful ways of promoting learning is for people to work in small groups. This allows people to explore their understanding, get feedback, and generally get multiple perspectives upon a problem. I am totally convinced that if you work in groups (if you can, and I know that there are some who cannot) you will benefit more than if you work alone. I therefore encourage you to work together. Having said this there are some problems with working together. I have found in the past (usually at least once a semester) I receive assignments that are identical or so close to being identical that it is clear that the assignments were not written up independently of one another. When questioned about this, the students usually reply that they worked together on the assignment in all phases. Let me be explicit about this. I do not expect to find, and will not tolerate, assignments that suggest one student has copied their answers from another. If you hand in an assignment under your name alone, I expect that this will be your attempt to answer the questions. I expect that this will be an independent write up of the answers irrespective of whether you worked with other students or worked by yourself. Thus, if you are working in a group, make sure that you do not put pen to paper until you are by yourself. If I find assignments that indicate that the write up has not been done independently I will award a 0 mark for the offending students Assignments – background The two assignments in this course involve doing research and writing parts of it for publication. You are going to be presented with a brief scenario describing some research. Data derived from the research are also provided. Your task is to specify for each scenario how the link between theory and experiment has been made and then to write a results section of the type found in most journal articles, then a brief discussion of those results. The expectation I have is that you will have completed at least one and probably two statistics courses, so you should have the required knowledge and should be able to use it. The level of stats in the assignment is equivalent to that covered in Data Analysis. In your methodology units you will have been introduced to the concepts of variables, particularly independent variables (IV) and dependent variables (DV). Most experiments in psychology are primarily concerned with theoretical constructs and testing those theoretical constructs requires that they are operationalised or made concrete in some manner. Psychological experiments test the operational variables and the results obtained using the operational variables are then used to infer something about the theoretical constructs. In the first part of each of the two scenarios, I want you to make the linkage between theoretical variables and operational variables explicit. I will ask you questions that force you to do this. Secondly, since you are going to have to write a results section, you are going to have to carry out some statistical tests. The type of test that you do is going to be determined by the type of operational variables you adopt. Most often variables can be classified as either continuous or categorical. If both IV and DV are categorical a different test is required to when both are continuous and a different test is required when one is categorical and the other is continuous. To help you decide what type of test is required I will ask you questions about the type of measurement used. You will need to think carefully about the variables, and their operational forms, in order to work out which test(s) to use in your analyses. Key points The 9 questions we are going to ask you to answer are: Part A – make sure of the theory 1. What is the theoretical independent variable of interest? 2. What is the theoretical dependent variables of interest? 3. What is the hypothesis of the study in terms of the theoretical independent and dependent variables? Part B – turning theory into a concrete experiment 4. How has the independent variable been operationalised in the experiment? 5. For the IV state whether the measure is continuous or categorical. If it is categorical state the number of levels. 6. How has the dependent variable been operationalised in the experiment? 7. For the DV state whether the measure is continuous or categorical. If it is categorical state the number of levels. PSY2040 – Human information processing 13 8. What are the hypotheses of the study in terms of the operational independent and dependent variables? (Depending on the study there can be one or more hypotheses.) 9. What statistical test is appropriate for each hypothesis? Following these questions, you will be required to write a results section describing the results of the experiment. Any results section does three things: It summarises the results of the experiment in a way that the hypotheses of the study can be directly evaluated. Secondly, the results are described in words. This shows that you understand what your data are saying. Thirdly, the results of your statistical analyses will provide (or not provide) support for your hypotheses. When you have finished the results section, discuss your findings as they relate to your hypotheses in a brief statement or two under the heading ‘discussion’. An example Lets have a look at an example to give you some idea of what is expected in the assignment. Here is a typical scenario: A cognitive psychologist examined the influence of level of processing on recognition memory for words. The psychologist hoped to find that material that had been studied at a deep semantic level would be easier to recognise during a memory test than material that had been studied at a relatively shallow semantic level. Two study conditions were employed. Deep processing was manipulated by having one group of participants rating target words for pleasantness and a second group were required to count the number of vowels in the target words as a form of shallow processing. The number of target words correctly recognised during the test was recorded for each person. Here are the data that were collected by the experimenter. Participant Pleasantness Participant Vowels We are now in a position to do the assignment. The answers to the 9 questions with respect to this scenario are as follows: Part A – make sure of the theory 1. What is the theoretical independent variable of interest? Levels of Processing. 2. What is the theoretical dependent variables of interest? Memory for Words. 3. What is the hypothesis of the study in terms of the theoretical independent and dependent variables? Deep processing will produce better memory for words than will shallow processing. Part B – turning theory into a concrete experiment 4. How has the independent variable been operationalised in the experiment? Used two different types of processing task – rating for pleasantness and counting vowels. 5. For the IV state whether the measure is continuous or categorical. If it is categorical state the number of levels. It is categorical in that there are two levels, pleasantness and vowels. 6. How has the dependent variable been operationalised in the experiment? Number of words correctly recognised. 7. For the DV state whether the measure is continuous or categorical. If it is categorical state the number of levels. The DV is continuous, the number of words correctly recognised. 8. What is the hypothesis of the study in terms of the operational independent and dependent variables? Rating words for pleasantness will produce larger numbers of words correctly recognised than will counting the number of vowels in words. 9. What statistical test is appropriate for the hypothesis? Since the IV is categorical with twolevels and the DV is continuous and the hypotheses are couched in terms of differences between means, an independent groups t-test is the appropriate test. We are now in a position to think about the results section. The instructions say that you have to do three things: summarise the data, give a verbal description of the data, and provide statistical support. So, since the hypothesis predicts that rating words for pleasantness will produce better recognition than counting vowels, the logical way to summarise the data is to calculate the means for the two conditions. We will also want to present a measure of dispersion as well. We can then present our means either in a table or in a graph. This summary allows us to immediately tell whether or not the hypotheses have been supported. Have a look at the graph below without reading the text above it and see if you can tell what the outcomes of the experiment are. Once the data have been presented, we can then tell people what the data summary says in a way that is relevant to the hypothesis. In this instance that words rated for pleasantness were better recognised than words for which vowels were counted. We can then provide statistical support by showing that our t-test produced a statistically significant t value. Let’s see how we might write this up as a formal results section. Please note that we talk about operational variables rather than theoretical variables. Note: If using this example as a model for your assignments, be aware that it is NOT in correct APA style. Refer to your Burton (2002/2007) text for correct APA requirements. Results The number of items correctly recognised is presented in figure 1. As is evident in figure 1, items that had been rated for pleasantness were better recognised than items that had their vowels counted. An independent groups t-test indicated that this difference was statistically significant, t (18) = 7.28, p <.001. Figure 1: Mean number of items correctly recognised as a function of processing condition. Note error bars represent standard error of the mean. Examination The exam will consist of 70 multiple choice questions, approximately half will be on Sensation and Perception and the remaining half will be on Attention, Learning and Memory. Type of Processing % Recognised Pleasantness Vowel Assignment 1 This assignment is marked out of 70 marks. Activity 1 is allocated 10 marks, Activity 2 is allocated 55 marks and there are 5 marks awarded for how well answers to Activity 2 conform to APA conventions. Activity 1 (10 marks) In the preamble to these assignments the point is made that a Results section should do three things: • summarise the results • describe the results in English • provide statistical support. Four articles follow this assignment. Each contains a simple results section. I want you to photocopy the results section from each of the last three articles: (2005). Birth month and suicide among major league baseball players. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 101, 21–23.  (2005). Age effects in earwitness recall of a novel conversation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 100, 774–776.  (2005). Israelis’ attitudes toward the disengagement plan, perceived risk, and knowledge of biblical events. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 101, 42. and then to identify where the author has accomplished these three aims. You can do this by highlighting the various sections, either by using different coloured highlighting pen or by using different forms of underlining. Thus, you might like to underline using a single line or use a green highlighter, exactly where the author/s are summarising the results. You might like to use a double underline or a blue highlighter to indicate where the results are being described in English. Finally, you might like to use a wavy underline or a red highlighter to indicate where the statistical support is being provided. Whatever way you choose make sure that you are consistent across the three articles, and tell us your coding system. Note: Not all three aspects need have been done. That is, there may be no data summary, or no describing the results in English or no supporting stats. I have given an indication of what I am looking for by providing an answer in the first reading, that by Hu and Luo (2001). You do something similar for the remaining articles. Due date: 27 August 2007 Weighting: 15% 18 PSY2040 – Human information processing Activity 2 (55 marks – 27.5 per scenario) For each of the following two scenarios answer the following 9 questions and write (under the heading Results) a results section as typically found in a journal article, then (under the heading Discussion) one or two brief statements discussing your findings. 1. What is the theoretical independent variable of interest? 2. What is the theoretical dependent variable of interest? 3. What is the hypothesis of the study in terms of the theoretical independent and dependent variables? 4. How has the independent variable been operationalised in the experiment? 5. For the IV state whether the measure is continuous or categorical. If it is categorical state the number of levels. 6. How has the dependent variable been operationalised in the experiment? 7. For the DV state whether the measure is continuous or categorical. If it is categorical state the number of levels. 8. What are the hypotheses of the study in terms of the operational independent and dependent variables? (there may be one hypothesis, or more than one) 9. What statistical test is appropriate for each hypothesis? Scenario 1 (27.5 marks) Your text book on perception makes the point that visual pattern perception is influenced by the context in which a pattern is presented (Matlin & Foley, pp. 148–155). An experiment by Palmer (1975; see Figure 5.23) is described where people were presented with a scene and then very briefly shown an item that had to be named. Palmer measured the time and accuracy with which the items could be named, and found performance was better when an item could reasonably be expected to appear in the scene. In the current experiment we are going to examine the role of context on pattern recognition by comparing the naming times for control and appropriate pictures as defined by Palmer. A context effect in pattern recognition can be obtained by subtracting the scores in the ‘appropriate’ condition from those in the ‘control’ condition. A positive number would reflect a context effect, i.e.a greater difference between control and appropriate items. A question arising from Palmer’s research is the role of simple visual item recognition in the above effect. Since patterns of the type used in Palmer’s research are constructed of smaller, simpler components, it seems possible that differences on ability in the Palmer task might be affected by people’s ability to process simple visual items. More importantly for present purposes, it is possible that there are individual differences in simple visual item processing which might be responsible for producing differences in pattern recognition. The idea here is that people who are ‘better’ (or faster) at simple visual processing might also be ‘better’ at doing the Palmer task and show greater context effects. In order to test this notion, the current experiment looks at the relationship between performance on the pattern recognition task described above, and performance on a simple item recognition task. Simple visual item processing was measured by having people correctly identify objects made from long thin balloons (imagine a circus performer or magician twisting long balloons together to make shapes like a balloon dog, a balloon flower, etc.). In this task, photographs of objects made from balloons were presented once to participants. Participants were then shown the original set of photographs, with other distractor photographs added, and were asked to recognise the balloon shapes which had originally been presented. The measure used for this task was the number of balloon objects correctly recognised in 30 seconds. The expectation of the study was that there would be a relationship between performance on the simple visual item processing task and performance on the pattern recognition task Number of balloon objects correctly recognised in 30 seconds Difference in naming time (milliseconds) between control and appropriate items Scenario 2 (27.5 marks) Your text book on perception refers to phonemic restoration (). Phonemic restoration refers to the finding that, when part of an utterance is replaced by an extraneous sound – such as a cough – listeners report the utterance sound as intact (That is, participants perceptually restore the missing speech). (1981) found that this effect is stronger for common words than rare words. We want to explore some other characteristics of words and their effects under phonemic restoration. In this scenario we will be looking at the concreteness or imageability of words. In the current experiment we are interested in the strength of the phonemic restoration effect as a function of concreteness. It is expected that there will be differences in performance depending upon how ‘concrete’ a word is. Concreteness is often defined operationally by asking people how easy it is to form an image from a word and to use a rating scale (from 1 to 10) to reflect the ease of forming an image. Words like basket, house, cat etc. are usually rated as easy to image, and are thus considered very concrete. Other words like justice, common, or false are rated as less easy to image and are thus considered to be more abstract. In the current scenario, either abstract or concrete words were presented through headphones and participants were required to shadow (say each word aloud as they heard it through the headphones). 100 words were presented in the list, of which 60 were intermediate in concreteness and were presented intact (clearly audible). Of the remaining 40 words, half were very concrete and the other half were very abstract, and all 40 were presented through the headphones under degraded (not clearly audible) conditions. The data for 30 participants from the experiment are presented below, representing the mean number correctly produced for the 20 concrete and the 20 abstract words only. The other 60 (intermediate) items were distractors and therefore not scored. Readings for assignment 1 (a)  (2001). Susceptibility to motion sickness induced by optokinetic rotation and self-rotation by walking around a vertical pole. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 93, 289–296. (b)  (2005). Birth month and suicide among major league baseball players. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 101, 21–23. (c)  (2005). Age effects in earwitness recall of a novel conversation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 100, 774–776. (d)  (2005). Israelis’ attitudes toward the disengagement plan, perceived risk, and knowledge of biblical events. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 101, 42. Readings Assignment 2 This assignment is marked out of 70 marks. Scenario 1 is allocated 35 marks, Scenario 2 is allocated 30 marks, and a further 5 marks are awarded for how well answers to the scenarios conform to APA conventions. Scenario 1 and 2 For each of the following two scenarios answer the following 9 questions and write (under the heading Results) a results section as typically found in a journal article, then (under the heading Discussion) one or two brief statements discussing your findings. 1. What is the theoretical independent variable of interest? 2. What is the theoretical dependent variable of interest? 3. What is the hypothesis of the study in terms of the theoretical independent and dependent variables? 4. How has the independent variable been operationalised in the experiment? 5. For the IV state whether the measure is continuous or categorical. If it is categorical state the number of levels. 6. How has the dependent variable been operationalised in the experiment? 7. For the DV state whether the measure is continuous or categorical. If it is categorical state the number of levels. 8. What are the hypotheses of the study in terms of the operational independent and dependent variables? There may be one hypothesis or more than one. 9. What statistical test is appropriate for each hypothesis? Scenario 1 (35 marks) Both of these scenarios deal with the digit span task. Much of the material in module 9 deals with immediate serial recall and often the dependent measure has been some type of memory span. In the current scenarios digit span was calculated based on 24 trials in which four trials were given at each list length starting with a list length of 4 and ending with a list length of 9. On each trial the digits were presented on a computer screen at a rate of one digit per second. After the last digit in the sequence had been presented, a row of question marks appeared on the screen ‘????’. This served as a cue for the participants to attempt to recall the digits in order. Due date: 1 October 2007 Value: 30% One interesting aspect of this research is that recall is almost always requested in a forward direction, very rarely is backward serial recall required. The lack of research in backward recall is surprising given that backward recall is one of the tests used on such clinical memory batteries as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III) and the Wechsler Memory Scales (WMS-III). One suggestion is that backward recall is nothing more than multiple attempts at forward serial recall. Thus, to recall the last word, people recall in a forward direction until they get to the last word, they output it and then do forward serial recall until they get to the second last word and output it, and so on. If backward serial recall is nothing more than repeated forward serial recalls, then it is possible that the phonological loop component of Baddeley’s working memory system is supporting backward recall as it does forward recall. If so, then backward recall should show all the same patterns and effects upon performance that forward recall does. One of the interesting effects of forward serial recall is that the mean digit span is not equivalent in different languages. Thus, Chinese digit span is about 10, English span around 7 and Welsh span about 5 digits. This has been attributed to the time it takes to rehearse the various digits in the different languages – the Chinese digits can be rehearsed faster than the English digits and so more can be stored in the phonological store. The same explanation holds for the difference between English and Welsh spans. In this experiment we are interested in backward digit spans of Chinese, English and Italian speaking participants. The Chinese digits are all one-syllable words, each having a short vowel sound. English digits are again one syllable in length (with the exception of zero and seven), however the vowel sounds tend to be longer than those in Chinese. The Italian digits are all two-syllable words with the exception of three (tre) and six (sei). Fifteen native speaking Chinese, Italian and English participants were given the backward digit span task as described above. The above review suggests that language differences in forward serial recall are easily explained by the differences in spoken length of the items, and that the different spans are due to differences in rehearsal speed. If backward recall is nothing more than repeated forward recall attempts, it is logical to expect the same pattern of differences in backward recall as we see in forward recall between the three language groups. Experimental data The digit span data for 45 participants are provided below. The digit span number represents the number of sequences (out of 24) correctly recalled in reverse order. Scenario 2 (30 marks) This experiment continues the theme from Scenario 1. That is, “is backward recall supported by the phonological loop in the same way that forward serial recall call is?”. In this experiment we are concerned with individual differences in backward memory span and the factors that underlie such differences. The finding that in forward serial recall, lists of similar sounding words are harder to recall than lists of dissimilar sounding words suggests that the items are represented in terms of their phonemic attributes. This again suggests that those people who have high spans are better able to use phonemic information than those who have low spans. There is some evidence from our laboratory to suggest that this is the case. One way to measure the use of phonemic information is to assess how quickly people can pronounce pseudohomophones. A pseudohomophone is a non-word which, when spoken, sounds like a real English word (e.g. kaje = cage; nayshun = nation etc.). In the current scenario we are going to explore individual differences in digit span, so we will use pseudohomophones to examine the relationship between individual differences in the ability to use phonemic information, and backward digit span. If the phonological loop supports backward recall in the same way as forward serial recall, we hope to show that individual differences in the ability to use phonemic information are positively related to backward word span. Phonemic information Participants were presented with a sheet of paper which contained 25 pseudohomophones in a single column. Instructions indicated that as soon as the list appeared participants were to say the (non-) words aloud. The instructions stressed that they were to do this task as quickly as possible. The experimenter recorded how long it took participants to complete the task. The measure used is the number of seconds it took to read the 25 pseudohomophones. Chinese English Italian Backward span This task is described earlier in Scenario 1. Below are the data that 30 participants provided. The Phonemic score represents the number of seconds it took to complete the pseudohomophone task. Span represents the number of sequences correctly recalled in reverse order. ID Span Phonemic

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PSY2040 Human information processing Faculty of Science Department of Psychology Introductory book Table of contents Page Cours...