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During the 19^th century, developments in technology made psychological research much more precise, controlled and repeatable. This allowed researchers to investigate mental processes that had previously been difficult to measure. Psychology was beginning to develop from a field of philosophy into an experimental science. Before this, the human mind was mainly studied through theorising or self-reflection. However, new technologies made way for change enabling researchers to measure, time and record human behaviour and mental processes through controlled experiments. 

One important person in this development was George Elias Muller, a German experimental psychologist who worked at the University of Gottingen. Muller developed Ebbinghaus’s work on memory. He believed that people played more of an active role when it came to memory and went on to support his hypothesis with research. (Goodwin, 2012). Ebbinghaus saw memory as mostly an automatic process shaped by repetition. Whereas Muller believed people automatically played an active role by using strategies to recall information. 

The conclusion resulted from a procedural modification, whereby Muller added introspection back into the memory process, and participants described what they were thinking as they learned. (Goodwin, 2012). For example, Muller discovered how participants were using active strategies to remember the nonsense syllables such as BOK and TAV. This included them grouping or chunking the information, making it easier for them to remember. (Benjamin, 2019). These findings are generally what psychologists believe today. That memory is not passive and that people actively help themselves remember by organising information through making links, repeating or by adopting other strategies. (Goodwin, 2012). 

Another contribution made by Muller was the invention of the memory drum. With the help of his assistant, Friedrich Schumann, he was able to adapt a kymograph, to show learning material automatically, rather than presenting lists by hand. Nonsense syllables, printed on paper, were placed around the drum. As it rotated, each syllable appeared through a small window. This made the experiment more precise and consistent as each participant saw the syllables at the same speed. (Goodwin, 2012). As a result, Muller could compare participants’ results fairly. It also suggested that any differences in memory were more likely to come from the strategies used to learn the nonsense syllables, rather than from the differences in how the lists were presented. 

The use of memory drums went on to become standard laboratory equipment for memory research until it was replaced by computers in the 1990s. (Goodwin, 2012). Even today, as technology continues to develop, it remains evident how the memory drum played an important role in early memory research. Psychologists now use digital technology such as brain scans for similar reasons. However, it is Muller’s legacy that can still be seen, as his simple memory drum made way for modern equipment researchers use today to study the mind scientifically. 

References

Goodwin, C. J. (2012). Research in psychology: Methods and design (4^th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. 

Benjamin, L. T., Jr. (2019). A brief history of modern psychology (3^rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.