Made by Leena Mahmood
THE WAR OF THE GHOSTS (1932)
Bartlett showed 20 students a Native American ghost story (The War of the Ghosts) which
had unusual features. He asked them to read it then recall it on several occasions after a
few hours, days, weeks or even years – a technique called serial reproduction (and a
Repeated Measures design). Bartlett compared how the recalled versions of the story
differed from the original.
Results
Participants shortened the story when they reproduced it, from 330 words to 180
words, with the shortest reproduction happening after the longest gap (two years).
Participants also confabulated details, changing unfamiliar parts of the story to
familiar ideas in line with their schemas: canoes and paddles became boats and oars,
hunting seals became fishing.
Participants rationalised the story, coming up with explanations for baffling parts of
the story. For example, in later reproductions, participants missed out the “ghosts” and just
described a battle between Native American tribes.
Bartlett didn’t use many experimental controls, asking participants to reproduce the
story whenever was convenient. He bumped into one student in the street two years later
and asked her to reproduce The War of the Ghosts there and then. The changes in the
stories were also down to his own subjective opinion*
*Thematic Analysis- Biased and unreliable.
THE WAR OF THE GHOSTS (1932)
Bartlett showed 20 students a Native American ghost story (The War of the Ghosts) which
had unusual features. He asked them to read it then recall it on several occasions after a
few hours, days, weeks or even years – a technique called serial reproduction (and a
Repeated Measures design). Bartlett compared how the recalled versions of the story
differed from the original.
Results
Participants shortened the story when they reproduced it, from 330 words to 180
words, with the shortest reproduction happening after the longest gap (two years).
Participants also confabulated details, changing unfamiliar parts of the story to
familiar ideas in line with their schemas: canoes and paddles became boats and oars,
hunting seals became fishing.
Participants rationalised the story, coming up with explanations for baffling parts of
the story. For example, in later reproductions, participants missed out the “ghosts” and just
described a battle between Native American tribes.
Bartlett didn’t use many experimental controls, asking participants to reproduce the
story whenever was convenient. He bumped into one student in the street two years later
and asked her to reproduce The War of the Ghosts there and then. The changes in the
stories were also down to his own subjective opinion*
*Thematic Analysis- Biased and unreliable.
