A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Queen Margaret University

3.2.1.2 Initial training and assessment procedure
It was anticipated that participants from the normal population would learn most
(if not all) of the stimuli given sufficient time. It was envisaged that participants
with aphasia in the main investigation would be under various pressures due to
cognitive and language impairments, therefore it was decided to restrict the time
allocated for learning for these normal participants and make observations about
their learning ability under these pressurised conditions.
The pre-recorded audio script set a context for the introduction of the novel
stimuli (Appendix 3.2) and participants confirmed that all character images were
unfamiliar. They were then given the task of learning the name, skill and eye
colour of each alien, on which they would be assessed at the end of the learning
period. Participants initially viewed each stimulus for a period of 10 seconds
alongside the pre-recorded information. This information was repeated with
participants viewing the stimuli for a period of five seconds per stimulus. The
researcher then left participants alone to learn the required details within a
period of five minutes and using any learning techniques or methods that they
wished.
3.2.1.3 Immediate recall
After five minutes elapsed the researcher returned and removed all stimuli and
learning materials. Participants were assessed on their ability to recall
everything that they could remember about each of the aliens (spoken recall).
Following this the alien images were presented one by one and participants
wrote the name and skill of each alien and coloured in the alien’s correct eye
colour from a selection of five colour pencils (written recall). There was no time
limit on this task and no feedback was given upon its completion. All responses
were audio recorded.
75