Associative Memory in Relation to Narrative Learning.

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Associative Memory in Relation to Narrative Learning

Tim Flynn

A1034-031

IB Psychology

February 22, 2004

Word Count: 1499

Table of Contents:

I. Abstract...............................................................3

II. Introduction...........................................................4

III. Methods Section...................................................5-6

IV. Results...............................................................7-8

V. Discussion Section................................................9-10

VI. Appendix..........................................................11-19

A. Script..........................................................11-12

B. Debriefing Notes................................................13

C. Word List.........................................................14

D. Test Sheet.........................................................15

E. Raw Data.........................................................16

F. Standard Deviation Calculations...........................17-18

G. Consent Form.....................................................19

VII. References.............................................................20

Abstract:

This experiment is a replication of the 1973 study conducted by Gordon Bower and Michael Clark entitled "Associative Learning through the use of Narrative Stories." The experiment incorporates two groups of individuals, selected through opportunity sampling, whose undertaking is to memorize a list of words sequentially. The experiment's objective was to determine if the original experiment by Bower and Clark was warranted in affirming that the use of narrative stories improves memory word recall. Upon completion, the replication's statistics made clear that the creation of a narrative story for memorization drastically affected one's ability to recall words than other methods and thus supported the findings of the original experiment.

Introduction

Throughout Psychology, the topic of Memory has been a focus in experimentation. Through the process of "Chaining," this experiment seeks to establish a link between narrative learning and associative memory. The social applications of this to learning are immense as it is well suited for natural learning and educational atmospheres.

Bower and Clark first conducted this experiment in 1973. Since then, several assessments of the experiment have arisen, many of them criticisms. In The Complete Problem Solver (1989), J.R. Hayes maintains that this type of learning is only successful under certain circumstances and that other types of memorization, such as the Method of Loci or acronyms would be more effective in other environments. Despite such critiques, the work conducted by Bower and Clark has been applied to the modern day. The 1999 experiment "The Contribution of Thumbnail Images, Mouse-over Text and Spatial Location Memory to Web Page Retrieval in 3D," had Microsoft researchers utilize ideas from Bower and Clark's experiment in order to improve "user memory for where favorite or frequently used information is stored in the electronic environment."

Within this replication, the validity of the hypothesis was assessed through a control and experimental group. Each group was given 20 minutes to memorize 60 words. The control group was instructed to use any memorization technique in order to recall the words while the experimental group was restricted to using narrative stories. In controlling the constants, the experiment was able to focus on the independent variable of narrative learning.

Methods

Design:

This replication of Bower and Clark's 1973 Narrative Learning Experiment utilizes the Matched Pairs design. In this design, subject variables are kept constant between conditions, eliminating extraneous variables such as gender, age and academic aptitude. Controls such as identical lists, tests, words and environments for the control and the experimental groups, increased the accuracy of the results attained. The independent variable is narrative learning ("chaining") while the dependent variable is memory (word recall).
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Ethics:

Being that the subjects were not threatened or deceived, the experiment exhibits ethical responsibility. An explanation of what the experiment entails and the option to opt out was administered to the subjects, as well as efforts made by the researchers to the subjects' privacy and debriefing.

Participants:

In the experimental and control groups, there are four participants with ages ranging form 16-18 years with a mean age or 17. Those groups consist of two males and two females, chosen through opportunity sampling. The subjects were taken from a population consisting primarily of 11th grade ...

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