A novel study: Forgetting curves and the reminiscence bump

Abstract

This study examined the forgetting curves for information read in a novel. People read a 10-chapter novel where each chapter covered an approximately 10-year period in the life of the protagonist. After reading the entire novel, participants completed various memory tests in which they summarised the novel, provided associated information from cues, and answered specific questions. Performance was plotted as the amount of information or the accuracy of question answering for each chapter. All of the memory tests revealed similar patterns: (a) better performance for early information (a primacy effect), (b) a bump in performance when the protagonist was approximately 20 years old, and (c) a smaller bump in performance when the protagonist began a career later in life. These results are considered in the context of theories of forgetting, autobiographical memory, and situation models.

Keywords:

• Forgetting curve
• Reminiscence bump
• Narrative
• Autobiographical memory

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Diane Berish, Anthony Bishara, Kelly Crowhurst, Jackie Curiel, Lacey Nielson, Kris White, and Sarah Wieber for their assistance in collecting data. We would also like to thank an anonymous reviewer for his feedback. This research was supported in part by an US Army Research Institute grant (ARMY-DASW01-99-K-0001).

Notes

¹One possible influence on the results in the current study was that the novel was about a woman's life. While it is possible that male readers may not have identified as strongly with the protagonist because of this, we do not think that this is likely. First, the novel described events that were relatable to people of either gender (e.g., illness, marriage, career, etc.). Second, all of our participants were volunteers (i.e., they were not participating in exchange for class credit or pay) who were motivated to read this particular novel. While the analysis of gender identification between the reader and the protagonist may be of interest to future studies, this idea is beyond the scope of the current study.