The memory confusion protocol is a technique used by
social psychologists
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives fro ...
to discover whether
subjects are
categorizing
Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...
individual
An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...
s into groups and, if so, what characteristics they are using to do so – without the knowledge of the subjects, in order to reduce the risk that subjects will try to conceal their reasons. The technique has three main steps:
#Subjects are shown
photograph
A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...
s of the individuals and are asked to form impressions of them.
#The subjects then see a set of
sentences
The ''Sentences'' (. ) is a compendium of Christian theology written by Peter Lombard around 1150. It was the most important religious textbook of the Middle Ages.
Background
The sentence genre emerged from works like Prosper of Aquitaine's ...
, each of which is paired with a photograph of the individual who said it.
#Subjects are not forewarned of the final step, a surprise
recall
Recall may refer to:
* Recall (baseball), a baseball term
* Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop
* Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure
* ReCALL (journal), ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted langua ...
task: the sentences are presented in random order, and the subjects must attribute each to the correct individual.
The subjects' mistakes in the recall task reveal how they categorize the individuals: the subjects are more likely to misattribute A's statement to B if they grouped A and B as members of the same category than if they considered them members of different categories.
[ A description and example are given at ]
References
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Social psychology