Bartlett (1932)

You need to know: Click here to read "War of the Ghosts", the story used in this experiment.
 * The aim
 * The procedure
 * The results/findings
 * The conclusion
 * The evaluation

Aim:
To investigate how and why information changes with each reproduction.

Procedure:
Serial: Participants read War of the Ghosts. They then repeated the story to the next person. This was done with several chains of participants.

Serial reproduction:  Participants pass information from one participant to another

Repeated: Participants were tested separately. They are told the story done at different intervals for different participants.

Repeated reproduction: Participants are divided into groups. Each group does a different condition.

Results:

 * Form of the story stays constant
 * Details such as names and numbers are often lost
 * People often make stereotypical assumptions
 * Events become less complicated
 * Secondary elaboration - incorrect details often added

Evaluation:
Strengths:)

Both repeated and serial reproduction tasks were done many times. Other stories were also used, shows that changes weren't just special to 'War of the Ghosts'

Weaknesses

By choosing unfamiliar material, Bartlett could not be sure what changes would happen with familiar materia ll