Listen "Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology"
Episode Synopsis
This episode is a deep dive into text from the Hermann Ebbinghaus's book.A Contribution to Experimental Psychology, published in 1913. In it, Ebbinghaus outlines his methodology for studying memory, based on the principles of scientific experimentation and quantitative measurement . He criticizes traditional methods of memory research, considering them insufficiently precise and objective. Ebbinghaus proposes the use of nonsense syllables as a new tool that allows eliminating the influence of meaning on the results of the experiment. The book also describes Ebbinghaus's experiments , which demonstrate the dependence of memorization on the number of repetitions , time , and order of words in a series, as well as the principles of association of ideas . Overall, Ebbinghaus's text represents an important contribution to the development of experimental psychology , paving the way for modern memory research.