BARTLETT’S RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY AND SCHEMA THEORY Flashcards
Why is Bartlett’s theory significant?
It goes against the typical features of the cognitive approach since it rejects the idea of memory being like a sort of information processing used by a computer
He suggests it’s much more creative but less reliable
What does reconstructive memory mean?
- Bartletts suggest that instead of recalling memories exactly how they were, we ‘reconstruct’ them imaginatively based on our own past knowledge, experiences and expectations
- This creates reconstructive errors
What is a schema?
- A category of memories
- stored knowledge and mental representations of the world
- Each category has links to past memories and knowledge (think of it like a mind map)
- Files of all the different concepts we have about the world.
What does a schema do?
- Schemas influence the way in which we recall information
- They are constantly changing as we encounter new information and experiences
- Schemas become more complex as we get older as we get a deeper understanding and more knowledge of the things around us
- We adjust our schemas to accommodate new information
Why does everybody interpret things differently?
- Everybody has different schemas based upon prior knowledge
- We perceive information based upon prior knowledge/ our schemas to make judgements
- When information is ambiguous, we interpret based upon what we know already and what makes sense to us
What are the three main strategies used to reconstruct memories?
- Confabulation
- Rationalisation
- Shortening
What is confabulation?
When recalling information we will “fill it in the gaps” with information that is consistent with our schema
What is rationalisation?
When recalling information we may “change the details” so that it makes sense to fit in with our existing schema
What is shortening?
When recalling information we may “leave out details” that don’t make sense with our current schema so that it is easier to process
How does Bartlett’s theory relate to eyewitness testimony?
- If we witnessed a crime, we may not have a strong memory of the suspect
- Our memory brings together lots of different details so that we can reconstruct the memory of what this suspect looks like based upon our prior knowledge, stereotypes and expectations of what a criminal looks like
- This poses an issue for the reliability of eyewitness testimony as witness’s memory of the crime may be reconstructed and therefore unreliable evidence
What is the war of the ghosts story?
- A native American folk tale that Bartlett read to British participants to test his theory
- The story contains unusual details that would not be normal in typical British stories and therefore not in our schemas
- Pps were read the story and asked to reproduce it various times (minutes, hours, months or years later)
- Overtime recall of the story got shorter and more coherent - unfamiliar concepts were transformed into more familiar concepts and modern language
- Bartlett concluded that memories are not exact copies of experience but “reconstructions” with errors of distortion and simplification based on prior knowledge and what makes sense to our schemas
2 strengths of Bartlett’s theory
- Loftus and Palmer
- Allport & Postman
- Holistic approach (more of a conclusion)
What do the results of Bartlett’s study suggest?
Demonstrates how memory recall is not an exact replica, but instead is replicated based upon the individuals knowledge, experiences and expectations
How does Allport and Postman support Bartlett’s theory?
- Showed pps a drawing of an argument on the train. They were asked to describe it to another participant through serial reproduction (like Chinese whispers). The black character was better dressed and more respectable than the white character, but after serial reproduction, white pps tended to reverse their appearances.
Some even describe the black character is holding a knife - As racism was very common in the US at the time, it is likely pps were using the schema (of black people being aggressive and criminal) to reconstruct the story when recalling
How do Loftus and Palmer support Bartlett’s theory?
- They found that changing the verb in a critical question about car speed (how fast was the car travelling when it hit/smashed into another car?) affected the answer that participants gave.
- They were also more likely to accurately remember broken glass at the scene when the verb was more intense
- These were standardised laboratory experiments that gave more robust reliable evidence to support Barlett theory
2 weaknesses of Bartlett’s theory
- Bartlett research being unreliable
- Wynn and Logie
How does Bartlett’s research serve as a weakness for his theory?
- Bartlett supports his own theory with unreliable evidence from his ‘war of the ghosts’ study as it had very few controls (pps were not given standardised instructions and time between recall varied for each pps)
- Suggesting that his theory is unreliable and his study is not valid
How do Wynn and Logie create a weakness for Bartlett’s theory?
They found that in natural situations memories are not added to overtime so rationalisation may only occur in artificial situations.
Bartlett and Loftus and Palmer‘s research is all laboratory based and lacks ecological validity. In the real world, It appears memory may work differently.
What are the 2 strength and weakness comparison pairs of Bartlett’s theory?
- Bartlett’s results vs his unreliable study
- Allport and Postman
- Loftus and Palmer vs Wynn and Logie
How did Bartlett test his theory?
He conducted a study
- He gave 20 students the ‘war of the ghosts’ which is a native American ghost story that has unusual features. He told them to read it and then recall it on several occasions - after a few hours, a few days, weeks or even years (serial reproduction). Bartlett compared how the recalled versions differed from the original.
What did Bartlett conclude through his study?
- Pps shortened the story (from 330 words to 180)
- Pps confabulated details changing unusual parts and making them more ‘normal’ familiar ideas from their schemas
(Canoes-> boats, seals-> fish) - Pps rationalisted the story, coming up with explanations for unusual parts
How can Bartlett reconstructive theory be applied to the real world?
It explains why eyewitness testimony is so unreliable as having to reproduce their testimony so many times (to journalists, police or the court (serial reproduction)) the wrong information and mistakes can recalled and confabulated
How does Elizabeth Loftus support Bartletts theory?
She examined the Steve Titus case and questioned why the rape victim went from “he looks the closest” to “he 100% is the rapist”. Loftus studied false memories
She asked people - How fast do you think the cars were going/ describe the scene where the cars (smashed/hit/bumped) into each other?
People answered significantly varied depending on the adjective used in the question. People who were asked ‘smashed’ falsely remembered seeing broken glass or blood at the scene when there wasn’t any.
When you feed people misinformation about a situation or topic, you can change/influence those people’s memories
She also found that psychotherapy has a huge impact on planting bizarre false memories. False memories can have extreme repercussions that can affect behaviour.
What is Bartletts reconstructive theory?
He argued that memories are grouped into categories called ‘schemas’ which are stored knowledge and mental representations of the world.
●Memory does not function like a tape recorder or photo, we do not recall events in a clinical, objective way that would happen if we recorded or photographed an event.
●Instead of storing an exact replica of the initial stimulus, we integrate it with elements of our existing knowledge and experience (our schemas) to form a reconstructed memory representation.
●Reconstructive memory, memory is not a passive or true record instead an active construction based on previous knowledge, interpretations, expectations and motivations.
●Features of reconstructive memory are confabulation where people ‘fill in the gaps’ in recall with information that is consistent with their schema and rationalisation when people change details in their recall so that it makes sense to them.
