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A cognitive psychologist is designing a study to measure long-term episodic memory. They must decide between two measurement tasks: (1) having participants recall a list of words learned in the laboratory last week, and (2) having participants remember to send an email to the lab at a specific time next week. Evaluate the construct validity of each task for measuring episodic memory, and justify which task the researcher should choose.
Question: A cognitive psychologist is designing a study to measure long-term episodic memory. They must decide between two measurement tasks: (1) having participants recall a list of words learned in the laboratory last week, and (2) having participants remember to send an email to the lab at a specific time next week. Evaluate the construct validity of each task for measuring episodic memory, and justify which task the researcher should choose.
Sample answer: Task 1 (recalling a word list learned last week) is a valid measure of episodic memory, because episodic memory is defined as memory for previous experiences that involves 'mental time travel' and reliving the past. Recalling a list learned in a past session requires looking back in time to retrieve a past experience. Task 2 (remembering to send an email in the future) lacks construct validity for episodic memory because it represents prospective memory (remembering to execute a task in the future) rather than retrieving past experiences. Therefore, the researcher should choose Task 1.
Key points:
- Episodic memory is defined as memory for previous experiences involving mental time travel and reliving.
- Task 1 (word list learned last week) measures the recall of previous experiences, supporting construct validity.
- Task 2 (sending a future email) measures prospective memory rather than episodic memory.
- The researcher should choose Task 1 because it has higher construct validity for long-term episodic memory.
Rubric: Students must evaluate both tasks. They should receive credit for defining episodic memory as memory for past experiences involving reliving and mental time travel, showing how Task 1 fits this construct, identifying that Task 2 measures prospective memory rather than past experience retrieval, and concluding that Task 1 has higher construct validity.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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