Psychology A1 - concept three - cognitive

Question 1

reconstructive memory

Answer 1

-Bartlett (1932), memories are reconstructions
-don’t record events in memory and then reproduce them later, we store fragments of information
-recall something, we build these fragments into a meaningful whole
-results = memory isn’t fully accurate

Question 2

role of schema in memory

Answer 2

-schema = mental structure or ‘package’ containing our stored knowledge
-schema for every aspect of the world
-based on personal experiences and cultural experiences
-schema can reconstruct memories in 3 main ways
1. shortening
2. rationalisation
3. confabulation

Question 3

Bartlett

Answer 3

-schemas affect memory, influence what we store and recall
-used story of ‘The War of the Ghosts’ to investigate this
-folk tale has ideas that are unfamiliar to people, they aren’t part of your experience
-try to recall story, changes and becomes more familiar
-memory = reconstructed to fit existing schema
-makes memory more meaningful to you, easier to recall

Question 4

1. shortening

Answer 4

-parts of memory that don’t fit with schema are left out, what you remember = shorter
-example, Bartletts research, supernatural elements of story were unfamiliar so unable to be recalled

Question 5

2. rationalisation

Answer 5

-parts of memory are recalled but in a distorted way that fits schema
-memory of events changed, didn’t match relevant schema
-happens so that unfamiliar memories make more sense
-example, Bartletts research, people replaced unfamiliar words with familiar ones

Question 6

3. confabulation

Answer 6

-parts of memory are invented to fill in ‘gaps’
-isn’t deliberate, doesn’t happen randomly
-guided by schema to make better sense of the memory
-example, Bartlett’s research, some pps recalled details that weren’t in story, made it more meaningful

Question 7

evaluation: practical application (+)

Answer 7

-reconstructive memory can help explain problems with eyewitness testimony
-EWT is used in court trials to establish what happened during a crime
-eyewitness swears on an oath that they will tell the truth, but recollection of what they saw may be affected by schema
-evidence in court is never based on EWT alone, it’s inaccurate

Question 8

evaluation: research support (+)

Answer 8

-evidence for reconstructive memory from Bartlett’s research
-showed that recall of unfamiliar story was affected in many ways
-pps didn’t recall too many details but instead tried to make more sense of what they heard before storing it in memory
-story was changed a lot, evidence of the 3 reconstructions
-shows we reconstruct memories from elements that are influence by schema
-recall = inaccurate

Question 9

evaluation: some memories are accurate (-)

Answer 9

-not all memories are affected by schema
-recall can be accurate
-example, situations that are personally important/distinctive, can remember a lot of accurate detail
-Bartlett’s study, pps recalled the unusual parts of the story
-shows that people may not always reconstruct memories
-some memories can be unaffected by schema