AICE Psychology Study Review
Study: andrade
Complete the following sections using the original publication of the study.
The psychology that is being investigated
Cognitive
The background
People doodle to relieve boredom
The aim(s) of the study
They wanted to find if doodling helps with focusing
Suggested Hypothesis (one tailed, two tailed, and null)
One tailed: if a person doodles, they will remember most details
Two tailed: if a person doodles, they will recall all details provided
Null: doodling does not help with focusing
Sample used (sample size and demographics [if known], and sampling technique [if known])
40 participants, 20 control (2 male, 18 female), 20 experimental (3 male, 17 female). Opportunity
The procedure of the study (including the research methods used, experimental design, controls,
question types, tasks, measured and manipulated variables)
One participant at a time was put in a dull room, for the experimental process they had a sheet of paper
with a few shapes on them and were instructed to only shade in these shapes, not write anything else
down. The control group was given a blank piece of paper and instructed to write down only the names
of people attending the party. Both groups were played a monotone voice message about attendance to
a party. After the participants were done listening to the message, they were instructed to write down
the names of the people attending the party only, nothing else.
Ethical issues regarding the study
No visible ethical issues
The results of the study, including key quantitative and qualitative findings
Participants doodled an average of 36.3 and the range was 3-110 shaded shapes
15 doodlers got all names right and 9 control group got all names
This shows the doodling group had better recall while doodling
The conclusion(s) the psychologist(s) drew from the study
Doodling helps focusing on mundane or boring tasks.
The strengths and weaknesses of all elements of the study
Strengths: the voicemail was very boring and could easily make a person stop listening to it
This study is reliable and can be replicated easily due to its simple nature
Weaknesses: generalizability, as the study uses people that just came from a separate study and were
ready to go home. This could make the results not accurate to a regular person, lowering validity.
There were only 2 males in the control group with 18 women and 3 males in the experimental group
with 17 females. This could lead to inaccurate results because of such a skew in genders.
Describe and evaluate the research methods used
The experimenters used a lab study. They put the participants, one by one, in a room that was dull. The
environment used could change results slightly if a person is uncomfortable.
Consider how the study relates to psychological issues and debates
This would fall under the individual vs situational debate.
This is because it reflects the points that a person's actions are based on personality. Andrade purposely
made the environment and situation dull so that the participants would use their individual personalites.
Apply the findings of the study to the real world
During an important phone call, it might be good to doodle, helping you focus on remembering the
information in the phone call.
