Bartlett's Reconstructive Memory (1932)

Question 1

Schema

Answer 1

A packet of knowledge about an event, person or place that influences how we perceive and remember.

Question 2

Active Reconstruction

Answer 2

Memory is not an exact copy of what we experienced, it is an interpretation of events that are influenced by our schema when we remember them again.

Question 3

What are the four elements of recall according to Bartlett?

Answer 3

Omissions
Transformations
Familiarisation
Rationalisation

Question 4

Omissions

Answer 4

When we leave out unfamiliar, or unpleasant details when remembering something.

Question 5

Transformation

Answer 5

When details are changed to make more familiar and rational.

Question 6

Familiarisation

Answer 6

When unfamiliar details are changed to align with our own schema.

Question 7

Rationalisation

Answer 7

When we add details into our recall to give a reason for something that might not have fitted in with our schema.

Question 8

What is a Cognitive Interview?

Answer 8

A police interview designed to ensure a witness to a crime does not actively reconstruct a memory.

Question 9

What is a strength of Reconstructive Memory Theory?

Answer 9

Bartlett conducted his research using folk stories and images. His methods can be viewed as a test of memory in the real world because remembering stories is a realistic use of memory.

Question 10

What is a further strength of reconstructive memory?

Answer 10

It has real world application and helps us to understand how memory can be distorted. E.g. an eyewitness to a crime can misremember certain events which may lead to the wrong person being prosecuted.

Question 11

What is a weakness of reconstructive memory?

Answer 11

Bartlett’s findings are subjective because he analysed each story and picture himself and a gave his own interpretation of what the participants recalled. This makes the findings of his study unscientific which then undermines the theory of reconstructive memory.