S 1959 Articles: the Zeitgeist, the Sociology of Science, and False Memories

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 1998,5 (4), 615-624 Remembering Deese's 1959 articles: The Zeitgeist, the sociology of science, and false memories DARRYL BRUCE Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and EUGENE WINOGRAD Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia Two contemporaneous reports by J. Deese-one concerned with correct recall (l959a), the other with recall intrusions (l959b)-have differed dramatically in their citations to date. The differences represent an unusually compellinginstance of the operation of the scientific Zeitgeist.The article deal ing with correct recall was congruent with the Zeitgeist of memory research when it was published. Hence it flourished. Just the opposite was true of the article on intrusions, which by the mid 1970shad gone into eclipse. A markedly different Zeitgeist in the 1990s, however, led two investigators simulta neously and independently to adapt Deese's intrusion method to the investigation of false memories. Boring (e.g., 1959/1963b, 1963a) has argued that the spective of the Zeitgeist is that in the first instance, the Zeitgeist is the primary determinant of developments in times were not congenial to the new information, but science. By the Zeitgeist of a science is meant its pre later on they were. It is not difficult to produce examples vailing theories, facts, problems, and methods, as well as that may be interpreted in this way. A classic one is the the values, opinions, and attitudes of its practitioners and proposal by Aristarchus (ca 260 BiC.') that the earth is the societal context in which it functions. This climate of not the center ofthe universe but just another planet that thought and opinion, Boring contended, both advances revolves about the sun. Notwithstanding the correctness and hinders the emergence ofscientific ideas and proce ofthat view, it failed to gain currency. Some 1,800 years dures. Merton's (e.g., 1961/1973b) research led him to a passed before the times changed sufficiently and the he similar position, one that he referred to as the sociological liocentric theory ofCopernicus, published in 1543, car theory ofscientific development. Such views do not ignore ried the day. A more recent example is Mendel's theory the influence ofgreat minds on the course that a science of the elements ofheredity-what we now call genes may take; rather, the collective scientific and social envi and the manner oftheir transmission from parents to off ronment is seen as a more potent force. spring. Mendel published his work in 1866, but his re Two kinds of events testify to the hypothesis. One is port went ignored until 1900, when three botanists what may be called an anticipation (cf. Sarup, 1978): An Correns, de Vries, and Tschermak-independently pub innovation-a correct scientific idea, a useful method, or lished papers to the same effect only to find to their cha a significant finding-when first introduced, receives lit grin that they had been anticipated by Mendel. The ex tle or no attention. At some later time, however, it meets planation ofwhy Mendel's contributions went neglected with a favorable reception. The explanation from the per- for so long is complex, but a significant factor was that he was ahead of the knowledge and the evolutionary problems ofhis time (Mayr, 1982). In sum, the Zeitgeist We thank Harry Bahrick, Robyn Fivush, Elizabeth Loftus, Don can delay the emergence ofa new scientific idea and then Read, Roddy Roediger, and Roger Thomas for helpful criticisms of an later facilitate its acceptance. earlier version ofthe essay, We also thank the following individuals for patiently replying to our numerous queries: John Barresi, Douglas Bern The second kind of event that points to the influence stein, James Deese, Randy Engle, Jim Jenkins, Colleen Kelley, Eliza of the Zeitgeist is the simultaneous and independent emer beth Loftus, Bill McKeachie, Don Read, Roddy Roediger, Dan Schac gence ofa scientific discovery-a new finding, method, ter, and Endel Tulving. The manuscript was written while the first theory, or application advanced by two or more individ author was on sabbatical leave at Emory University; the hospitality of uals, working independently, at about the same time. the Department of Psychology at Emory is gratefully acknowledged, Financial support was provided by the Emory Cognition Project and the Such events are termed multiples (e.g., Boring, 1963a;Mer Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Corre ton, 1963/1973a). They spondence about this article may be sent to D, Bruce, Department of Psychology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS, B3H 3C3 Canada suggest that discoveries become virtually inevitable when (e-mail: [email protected]) or E, Winograd, Department ofPsy prerequisite kinds of knowledge and tools accumulate in chology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322 (e-mail: genew@fsl,psy. man's cultural store and when the attention of an appre emory.edu). ciable number ofinvestigators becomes focused on a prob- 615 Copyright 1998 Psychonomic Society, Inc, 616 BRUCE AND WINOGRAD lem, by emerging social needs, by developments internal the case rather fortuitously includes parallel research that to the science, or by both. (Merton, p. 371) serves as a comparison for evaluating the influence of the Zeitgeist. Third, those who have been involved in the Examples of multiples in science are easy to come by.One, research have been willing to comment on it. Such evi and undoubtedly the most famous, is Darwin and Wal dence is particularly useful in illustrating the psychology lace's independent and roughly simultaneous proposal in and sociology of science. Fourth, the Zeitgeist includes the mid-1800s of natural selection as the mechanism of broader societal concerns and these too have played a role evolution. Another is the hypothesis ofcontinental drift. in the present instance. Finally, ample documentation ex Hallam (1973) reported that it was first developed and ists, some ofit quantitative, concerning the Zeitgeist and advanced by Taylor in 1910 and then independently and its changes during the period under examination. For all more extensively by Wegener in a series ofpublications these reasons, we put forth the present case as paradig beginning in 1912. The simultaneous and independent matic ofthe functioning ofthe Zeitgeist. triple rediscovery in 1900 ofMendel 's work also qualifies as a multiple. If we add Mendel's original report of 1866 to the mix, ofwhich the rediscoverers were unaware, we An Overview ofDeese's (1959a, 1959b) have a delayed quadruple (Merton, 1961/1973b). Memory Research and Its Recognition The field of memory is not without its anticipations In 1959, James Deese published two complementary and multiples. The negative recency effect is an instance articles on memory. The first, in Psychological Reports ofthe former. When it was reported by Craik in 1970, it (Deese, 1959a), showed that correct free recall of a list was immediately and widely appreciated as an effective ofwords is directly proportional to interitem associative argument against single-store memory theory. We now strength-the mean relative frequency with which each know from the work ofMadigan and O'Hara (1992) that list word elicits all other list members as free associates. the effect had actually been observed roughly 70 years We hereafter refer to this publication as the number earlier by Calkins (1898). But lacking a scientific con correct article. The second paper (Deese, 1959b), which text at the time to give it any moment (Calkins herself appeared a month later in the Journal ofExperimental made little ofit), speedy oblivion was its inevitable fate. Psychology, reported that the probability of incorrectly Yetanother illustration ofan anticipation is Richard Se recalling a word that had not been presented (an intru mon's extensive analysis of retrieval processes 70 years sion) was directly proportional to the degree to which before contemporary investigators such as Tulving (1976, that word occurs on the average as an association to the 1983) focused attention on retrieval once again. (See words that were presented. Thus, ifthe words ofa list con Schacter, 1982; Schacter, Eich, & Tulving, 1978, for a full verge associatively on sleep, then sleep tends to be pro treatment of Semon's contributions and the reasons for duced in free recall even though it was not on the list. the neglect ofhis work.) An example ofa multiple is the Hereafter, this publication will be referred to as the in distractor procedure for assessing short-term memory. trusion article. Memory researchers implicitly recognize it as such, re Both reports were timely. They appeared when inter ferring to it as the Brown-Peterson task (e.g., Crowder, est in free recall and memory was on the rise (e.g., Broad 1976) after Brown (1958) and Peterson and Peterson bent, 1958; Miller, 1956; Murdock, 1962; Waugh & Nor (1959), who independently introduced it. man, 1965). Yet the two publications have had strikingly Though testimony to the operation ofthe Zeitgeist by different citation histories. Figure I graphs their cumu way of historical examples seems persuasive, such evi lative citations from 1959 through 1997 according to the dence is not always as unexceptionable as one would like. Science/Social Sciences Citation Index. The number Documentation ofdetails ofthe Zeitgeist surrounding an correct article published in the lower impactjournal, Psy ticipations or multiple discoveries is often unrevealing, chological Reports, was frequently cited up to the mid fragmentary, or entirely lacking and irrecoverable with 1970s before settling down to a steady rate ofabout I ci the passage oftime. Furthermore, individuals who were tation per year. The intrusion article, despite its appear part ofa historical Zeitgeist or central to a scientific dis ance in the more prestigious Journal ofExperimental Psy covery or an anticipation from long ago are unlikely to chology, never really got out ofthe gate. By the late 1970s be available to furnish their recollections and reflections.

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