Memory: An Experimental and Social Psychology Study

Author: Bartlett
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2000-06-01
Features: This book is one of the "20th Century Psychology Overviews," a renowned work by British psychologist Frederick C. Bartlett (1886-1969). In the book, the author not only refutes the impractical approach of traditional meaningless syllable experiments but also attempts to study memory in environments similar to everyday life. He employs pictures and stories that are closer to daily life, using methods such as "descriptive methods," "reproductive methods," "pictographic methods," and "serial reproductive methods" to examine the entire process of memory. The theories in this book originate from experiments. However, readers can study the presented materials in any order they prefer. The book explicitly claims to have studied various important psychological processes. These processes are typically encompassed under the term "memory" in a realistic manner, just as they occur in any normal individual, both within and outside social groups. Therefore, many consensuses involving these processes have been confirmed by experiments, which is quite natural. For some reason or another, the confirmation of these consensuses is often considered to prove the uselessness of psychological experiments. It is hard to understand why this should be the case. Many colleagues helped during the writing of this book, and I am deeply grateful to those who should have been mentioned.