Reconstructive Memory Flashcards
Who was it by and when?
Bartlett (1932)
What does reconstructive memory involve?
trying to understand new information based on previous information so memory becomes distorted
what are the schemas open to?
Confabulation
Rationalisation
Levelling
Sharpening
Supporting Evidence
Shaw and Porter (2015) found that 70% of participants in the criminal condition explained a false memory of committing crime such as theft, some giving details of their contact with the police.
This therefore suggest that how people are questioned can lead to people confabulate and create false memories of committing crime.
Critical Evidence
Axelrod (1973) argues that schema theory can only be used to explain changes in individuals and cannot account for how changes occur in groups.
This suggests that reconstructive memory does not account for how memory is rationalised and confabulated in all situations.
Conclusion
- useful as it shows the influence schemas have on memory
- but memories are subject to change and we can’t generalise that
What is confabulation?
where gaps are filled to fit with pre-existing information
What is Rationalisation?
making sense of information based on our schema to fit past experiences
What is levelling?
where we downplay details based on the importance
What is sharpening?
Exaggerating or adding details based on our schemas expectations
What are schemas?
a ‘template’ of a specific event based on prior knowledge
