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🎧 Read Aloud

Cognitive Psychology: Landmark Memory Research

TWO KEY STUDIES HELP ILLUSTRATE IMPORTANT THEORIES AND FEATURES OF MEMORY: BARTLETT’S (1932) ‘WAR OF THE GHOSTS’ AND PETERSON AND PETERSON’S (1959) STUDY ON STM DURATION.

Bartlett's 'War of the Ghosts' Outline

1

Aim

To investigate how memory is affected by prior knowledge and cultural expectations (schemas), and to demonstrate reconstructive memory.
2

Procedure

Participants read a Native American folk story, "War of the Ghosts," then recalled it multiple times over varying intervals.
3

Key Finding

Recollections became shorter, simpler, and more aligned with participants’ own cultural expectations over time.

Reconstructive Memory Conclusion

Bartlett's Core Argument

Bartlett argued that memory is an active process, not a passive recording. His results show that memory is active and reconstructive, influenced by prior knowledge making memories prone to distortion rather than exact reproduction. Participants changed unfamiliar elements to fit their own schemas (e.g., changing “canoes” to “boats” or removing supernatural aspects).

Duration of Short-Term Memory

1

Peterson & Peterson (1959) Aim

To investigate how long information stays in short-term memory without rehearsal.
2

The Distractor Task

Participants were given nonsense trigrams and performed a distracting task (counting backwards in 3s or 4s) to prevent rehearsal.

The Fragility of STM Recall

🤔
What happened to recall accuracy over the 18-second interval?
🦉
Recall accuracy was high at 3 seconds, but declined steeply, reaching near zero by 18 seconds.
🤔
And what did that confirm about STM?
🦉
It confirmed that STM has a limited duration (about 18-30 seconds) if rehearsal is prevented.

Key Finding on STM Duration

💡

Conclusion on STM: The study confirmed STM’s fragile, short-lived nature, providing clear support for the theoretical distinction of STM as a separate store.

Comparing Study Methodologies

✅
Strengths (Controlled & Naturalistic)
Peterson & Peterson: Well-controlled, used experimental methods, demonstrating a clear cause-effect relationship.
Bartlett: Used naturalistic material (folk story) and challenged earlier passive views of memory.
❌
Weaknesses (Ecological Validity & Control)
Bartlett: Lacked experimental control, making results difficult to generalize.
Peterson & Peterson: Use of artificial stimuli (trigrams) limits ecological validity.

Memory Terminology

🧠

Schemas

Prior knowledge and cultural expectations that organize and interpret information.
🔄

Reconstructive Memory

Memory is actively rebuilt upon recall, making it prone to distortion.
🔤

Trigrams

Nonsense three-letter combinations (e.g., CTG) used in P&P's study to minimize semantic encoding.
🚫

Rehearsal Prevention

A distracting task (counting backwards) performed to stop memory maintenance.
Memory Studies Deck
Q
Bartlett’s Aim (1932)

What was the aim of Bartlett’s "War of the Ghosts" study?

A
Aim

To investigate how memory is influenced by prior knowledge and cultural expectations (schemas), demonstrating reconstructive memory.

Q
Bartlett’s Procedure

What procedure did Bartlett use in his study?

A
Procedure

Participants read a Native American folk story and recalled it multiple times over varying intervals.

Q
Bartlett’s Findings

What were Bartlett’s key findings?

A
Findings

Participants’ memories became shorter, simpler, and conformed more to their own cultural schemas over time.

Q
Bartlett’s Conclusion

What conclusion did Bartlett draw about memory?

A
Conclusion

Memory is active and reconstructive, influenced by prior knowledge and prone to distortion.

Q
Bartlett’s Strength

What was a major strength of Bartlett’s study?

A
Strength

It demonstrated the role of schemas and challenged passive views of memory.

Q
Bartlett’s Weakness

What was a main weakness of Bartlett’s study?

A
Weakness

It lacked experimental control and had limited generalizability.

Q
Peterson & Peterson’s Aim (1959)

What did Peterson and Peterson aim to study?

A
Aim

The duration of information in short-term memory without rehearsal.

Q
Peterson & Peterson’s Procedure

What was the procedure of Peterson and Peterson’s study?

A
Procedure

Participants memorized nonsense trigrams and counted backwards to prevent rehearsal before recalling the trigram.

Q
Peterson & Peterson’s Findings

What did Peterson and Peterson find about STM duration?

A
Findings

Recall declined sharply, nearing zero by 18 seconds without rehearsal.

Q
Peterson & Peterson’s Conclusion

What conclusion did they reach about short-term memory?

A
Conclusion

STM duration is limited to about 18-30 seconds without rehearsal.

Q
Peterson & Peterson’s Strength

What is a strength of Peterson and Peterson’s study?

A
Strength

It used controlled experimental methods, showing clear cause-effect for STM duration.

Q
Peterson & Peterson’s Weakness

What is a weakness of their study?

A
Weakness

The use of artificial stimuli limits ecological validity.

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🧠 Psychology Memory Quiz

1. What theory did Bartlett’s “War of the Ghosts” study primarily demonstrate?

Bartlett showed that memory is not an exact reproduction but is reconstructed and influenced by schemas.

2. In Bartlett’s study, how did participants’ recollections change over time?

Participants altered unfamiliar details to fit their own schemas, simplifying the story.

3. What was the method used by Peterson and Peterson to prevent rehearsal?

This distracted participants and blocked rehearsal of the trigram.

4. What was a key finding of Peterson and Peterson’s study on STM?

Their experiment showed a steep decline in recall accuracy with increasing delay.

5. Which of the following is a weakness of Bartlett’s study?

The naturalistic setting meant variables were harder to control, limiting generalization.

📊 Results

  • Notes and Quiz
  • Psychology
  • GCSE
  • Memory
  • EDEXCEL