Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology

by Frederic Charles Bartlett, Walter Kintsch (Introduction)

In 1932, Cambridge University Press published Remembering, by the psychologist Frederic Bartlett. The landmark book described fascinating studies of memory and presented the theory of schema which informs much of cognitive science and psychology today. In Bartlett's most famous experiment, he had subjects read a Native American story about ghosts and had them retell the tale later. Because their backgrounds were so different from the cultural context of the story, the subjects changed details in the story that they could not understand. Besides containing important seminal concepts, Remembering is fascinating from a historical perspective. Bartlett discusses the ideas and research of Ebbinghaus, Freud, Jung, and Spearman. In addition, his comparison of Swazi African culture and British culture is a study in cross-cultural psychology that was ahead of its time.

Genres: Psychology, Science, Nonfiction, Classics, Neuroscience

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

Reviews

[Shannon Moeser · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic series of studies that should be read by everyone interested in how memory works. Written by Sir Frederick Charles Bartlett in 1932. Overlooked by North American psychologists until the 1970s. Still ignored by many psychology researchers examining memory.

I read the entire book sometime in the early 1970s.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic, and it must be read with that in mind. This does not the current state of the study of memory, but it is the provocative foundation for current work. If you are interested in one of the giants on whose shoulders psychology stands, read this book.

[Resky]

imagine the journay of informations... memory is one thing but no man can exactly remember every detail. the point is social construction. we, human, are depent on others socially

[Stanley Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

hard to understand examples

[Robert Bogue]

The second major advancement to our understanding of memory is Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology by Sir Fredric Bartlett. The first was Memory by Herbert Ebbinghaus. Bartlett’s study is far more interesting, because it is based on the stories that we tell ourselves and each other. It addresses the primary limitations of Ebbinghaus’ work by directly trying to identify the impact of the environment on memory.

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[Davis Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

You just made it up

[Nysha (•˕ •マ.ᐟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up because I love social psychology.
I enjoyed this but i do have some disagreements and it felt repetitive at some points.
Anyone interested in how memory works should read this