Replicating the Bower 1970 Experiment

The human memory has been shown to be highly organized, and when it is more organized, then the better it can be remembered (Squire & Wixted, 2011). Therefore, when words are organized well and students are asked to memorize, they tend to remember more words, especially when they associate the words with what they are used to. Therefore, unorganized words should be difficult to remember. This fact has been applied by Bower et al (1969) to describe how organized words are easy to recall, especially if they are organized in a hierarchy, and unorganized words are difficult to recall. Proper word organization can be applied in any course or field where recall or remembrance is required. A study was conducted on subjects where 60 words were categorized into 4 unorganized structures.

It was revealed that when subjects were asked to free-recall words that were given in unorganized categories, most of them organized the words into categorical clusters (Bousfield & Cohen, 1953). Another experimental study conducted by Ruben and Olson (1980) support this theory. In this study, students were requested to remember as many staff names as their memories could. Many students recalled staff names by department the staff member served within. But those who used randomly placed words recalled only 19% of the words correctly (Bower, Clark, Lesgold, & Winzenz, 1969). Several studies have supported Bower’s theory, and in this experiment, 30 words will be employed in evaluating the relevance of Bower’s experiment. The hypothesis that when organized words in a hierarchy are used the recall rate will be higher compared to when the words are unorganized will be tested in this research.

Independent Variables The independent variable in this research was the words’ presentation. Dependent Variables The number of words a participant recalled made the dependent variable Experimental Hypothesis There would be statistically noteworthy more word recalls for photographed organized word list compared to the word recalls put into non-photographed word list. Results First group, whose participants had their lines attached in a photograph, recalled 20 words out of 30, while the second group, whose participants had to imagine, recalled 10 words out of 30. The first group had intrusions number of 2 while the second group had intrusion number of 1. List of words to recall for both groups Figure 1: List of words to recall for both groups Table showing range and mean statistics for recall for both groups First Group Second Group Words remembered per participant 20 10 Median 21.

9 Table 1: Table showing range and mean statistics for recall for both groups Chart of words recall for both groups Figure 2: Graph of words recall for both groups ANALYSIS The experiment was performed as expected. It was a replication of Bower’s experiment that compared free recall of organized word list in form of hierarchy presented either in groups or in random lists. However, in our experiment, it was shown that most students remembered their words that were in the list although some students used similar format as the words in the photo were arranged in order. This was observed in the first group. A study that somehow did not contradict ours was that of Mandler (1967). In this study, there was more recall in groups that used more categories.

Participants who used 7 categories recalled more words compared to groups that used 2 categories. The participants recalled the words they could but imagery and organization effects contributed to the first group recalling more words than the second group. The experiment was partially controlled, and there was possibility of some information that surrounded the subjects that led to data alteration. For instance, some words used in this experiment could have featured in some posters or advertisements. Moreover, it was possible to access a sample opportunity that was easy in this experiment. However, most students studied psychology that may have had some effects on results. H. The Effects of Reinforcement on the Occurrence of Clustering in the Recall of Randomly Arranged Associates. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied.