Reconstructive Memory Flashcards

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1
Q

What does the theory state?

A

-Memory is an active reconstruction.
-Memory is not an accurate account but a reconstruction of what has occured.

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2
Q

What is a schema?

A

-A mental representation of an object, person or event that influences how we remember experiences.

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3
Q

What is omission?

A

Leaving out unfamiliar/unpleasant details when remembering something )schemas can simplify events).

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4
Q

What is confabulation?

A

When we cannot remember parts of an event so our schemas fill it in based on previous experiences.

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5
Q

What is accomidation?

A

When you change info to fit you schemas.

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6
Q

What is familiarisation?

A

When unfamiliar details are changed to align with out current schemas.

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7
Q

What is rationalisation?

A

Adding more details to our recalled memories to give a reason for something that does not fit with our schemas.

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8
Q

What is a cognitive interview?

A

A police interview designed to ensure a witness to a crime does not reconstruct their memory and lead to errrors.

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9
Q

What was Barrlet’s study and how does it support the theory?

A

Method:
-Ppts read a story called ‘the war of ghosts’ based on native American culture.
-Were asked to recall story after 15mins the over days, weeks and months.
-Findings:
-Ppts changed details to make it more familiar (e.g: canoes to boats showing familiarisation and leaving out supernatural details showing omission).

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10
Q

How can Barrlet’s study conflict reconstructive memory?

A

-War of ghosts today has little relevance and so lowers temporal validity.
-Barrlet suggested all reconstructive memories are inaccurate but that is not always the case.

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11
Q

What other theories can explain memory and why might they be better?

A

Multistore model:
-Has SR, STM and LTM.
-Explains how info moves from store to store.
-Describes encoding, capacity and duration of each store.

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12
Q

Why might reconstructive memory be better than MSM?

A

-Can describe recall and retrieval of information.

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13
Q

What was Loftus and Palmers study and how can it support the theory?

A

-Showed all ppts a video of a car crash.
-Asked all ppts to answer two questions.
-When asking how fast were the cars going one said ‘bumped’ and the other ‘smashed’ into each other and whether there was any broken glass.
Findings:
-Those who had ‘bumped’ said a lower speed and no broken glass.
-Those who has ‘smashed’ said a higher speed and there was broken glass.

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14
Q

How is reconstructive memory useful?

A

-Can understand eye witness testimony (each person recalling the same event can add in, miss out or change details).
-So eye witness testimonies may not be very trustworthy.

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15
Q

What are the issues with Barlett’s study and the testability of the theory?

A

-Low temporal validity so cannot be applied to modern behaviour.
-Study is very standardised so very reliable and easy to repeat for reliability.

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