The experiment investigated the effect of organization on memory. Specifically, the memory performance of 26 participants of various ages and backgrounds was tested after being randomly assigned to an organized or disorganized condition. Two hierarchies were created that contained various species of hummingbirds, woodpeckers, cats, and whales. Participants assigned to the organized condition were given an organized hierarchy of the animals and participants assigned to the disorganized condition were given a disorganized hierarchy. Each participant was given two minutes to study their respective hierarchy and were then asked to recall and write down as many items as they could remember on a blank hierarchy. It was hypothesized that the participants assigned to the disorganized condition would not perform as well as participants on the organized condition on the memory task. The results supported the hypothesis; participants in the organized condition performed significantly better on the memory test. These results are discussed in terms of their importance from current theories of memory. Future research recommendations are also discussed.
