The Effectiveness of Narrative Chaining on Memory

Abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of narrative chaining on memory. A total of 59 participants aged 10-69 years old took part in this experiment. They were chosen using convenience sampling and were split randomly into two independent groups. Participants had 30 seconds to memorise a list of words, either using maintenance rehearsal or narrative chaining to do so and then they were asked to write down as many words as possible after 2 minutes. Participants in the experimental group who used narrative chaining remembered a mean of 9.93 words out of 16 words with a mean percentage of 62% of words recalled. Participants in the control group who used maintenance rehearsal remembered a mean of 9.17 words out of 16 words with a mean percentage of 57% of words. The conclusion of the study was that while previous research has shown that narrative chaining does indeed improve memory, the results of this experiment indicate that there is little difference and is not conclusive.

Introduction: The world has become increasingly fast paced and is rapidly changing. Memory is now a crucial tool in optimal functioning in life and as such, this experiment was carried out to see whether a certain memory technique could aid memory recollection. Mnemonic devices are techniques used to enhance memory and this experiment involves the study of one particular device, that is, narrative chaining. Other examples of mnemonic devices include acrostics, acronyms and rhymes. Narrative chaining involves linking otherwise unrelated items to one another (‘chaining’) to form a meaningful sequence or story (‘narrative’)(Grivas, Letch, Down & Carter, 2010). It is a form of elaborative rehearsal because more information is stored, not less. However, that being said, narrative chaining makes the extra information more organised and meaningful, hence making it easier to recall. These facts suggest that the ease or difficulty with which we learn new information