Bartlett (1932) War of the Ghosts Flashcards
1
Q
When did Bartlett carry out his study?
A
1932
2
Q
What were the aims of this study?
A
To test reconstructive memory using an unfamiliar story
3
Q
What were the procedure used? (3)
A
- Ppts read ‘The War of the Ghosts’ twice and then asked to recall it using serial or repeated reproduction
- Serial:
- Ppt read story and retold it to a 2nd ppt 15 to 30 mins later.
- 2nd ppt then retold story to third, and so on.
- Repeated:
- Same ppt wrote out story after 15 mins
- Then recalled story several mins, hours, days, months and years later.
- 20 ppts
4
Q
What were the results of this study?
A
- Used qualitative analysis to interpret changes to story when recalled.
- Repeated reproduction:
- Themes in 1st reproduction tended to remain in later ones. - Both: Rationalisation
- E.g ‘Something black came out of his mouth’ became ‘a man’s dying breath’ - Both: Familiarisation
- E.g ‘canoe’ became ‘boat’.
5
Q
What 3 conclusions did Bartlett draw?
A
- Results became evidence for active and constructive nature of memory
- Ppts didn’t recall story fully or accurately and tended to omit details that didn’t fit with their schema.
- Some details transformed by influence of schemas
6
Q
Give two strengths of this study.`
A
- More naturalistic than methods used in other memory studies
- Gave results more ecological validity - Supported by other studies
- Bartlett replicated study different stories and again found ppts tended to omit and transform details.
- Made results more reliable
7
Q
Give two weaknesses of this study.
A
- Use of qualitative analysis may be unscientific.
- Bartlett could have interpreted recalled stories based on his own theory and ideas on reconstructive memory. - Didn’t have a standardised procedure.
- Ppts didn’t recall story at same time intervals.
- Ppts allowed to read story at their own normal reading pace.
