The Godden and Baddeley (1975) experiment on context-dependent memory on land and underwater: A replication

Abstract

A replication of the experiment by Godden and Baddeley (Godden and Baddeley 1975 British Journal of Psychology 66, 325-331 (doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1975.tb01468.x)) on environmental context-dependent memory is described. Sixteen divers studied auditorily presented word lists on land or underwater and recalled these 4 min later on land or underwater (each diver participated in all four combinations). Contrary to the original study, we did not find that recall in the same context where the words had been learned was better than recall in the other context. We discuss differences between our replication and the original study and emphasize the importance of attempts at replicating classic studies.