reconstructive memory Flashcards
main assumptions
- bartlett proposed encoding, storing and retrieving information in LTM causes memory to change
- reconstructive memory theory suggests that memory changes in ways that reflect our stored knowledge and experiences and therefore is not an accurate record of what happened
what is a schema?
a schema is a cognitve framework that organises our knowledge about things, people or situations
what do we use schemas for?
- to interpret and understand the world.
- schemas cause us to have expectations
- these expectations affect how we perceive the world and how we remember things.
describe schemas affect on perception and memory.
- schemas have a top down influence on perception and the way information is remembered
- bartlett used the term ‘effort after meaning’ to describe the considerable effort people spend trying to connect a stimulus they are given to some knowledge or experience they possess
- once it gains meaning, it’s easier to process
- this often produces inaccurate recall
what 4 ways can schemas affect memory recall?
- confabulation
- rationalisation
- distortion
- simplification
confabulation
when people unconsciously fill in the gaps in their memory according to their schematic beliefs, e.g. recalling that an offender was wearing dark clothes despite not recollecting what clothes they wore
rationalisation
reasoning about what must have happened based on schemas
distortion
when details of an event are altered to fit out schemas
simplification
occurs when information does not fit with schemas so it is made simpler and easier to understand
give 2 strengths of reconstructive memory
Supporting evidence from Loftus and Palmer who found EWT’s to be unreliable. They showed how leading questions could distort the memory of the witnesses memories due to the cues provided in the question. Ppts in the smashed conditions gave a higher average speed than ppts in the contacted condition. Therefore, showing how memories can easily be distorted due to schemas.
Supporting evidence from Bartlett’s War of Ghosts. He found that ppts recalled distorted information after watching a folktale. The more the story was told the more recall of the folktale shortened and the more obsecure details were missed. Therefore showing how schemas affected their memories. Confabulation occured where ppts called the canouist paddles ores instead. Rationalisation occured when the parts about the ghosts were missed out as they didn’t make sense. The story was also simplifed from 330 words to 180.
give 1 weakness of reconstructive memory
Opposing evidence from Yuille and Cutshall who found that real life witnesses from a stressful gun incident recalled the event accurately, even after being asked 2 leading questions that were said to cause distortion of memory. Even 5 months after memory recall was accurate. Therefore, showing how if schemas exist this should not be happening and that reconstructive memory is only found in artificial laboratory conditions not in real life.
give a weakness of loftus and palmer’s study
study lacks mundane realism. The task of watching a video car accident and then being asked how fast the cars were going is an abnormal task that you wouldn’t encounter on a normal day to day basis. Therefore, due to the unusual task the study is not representative of how schemas affect real life recall of events.
application
High application to society as it started the innocence project, which aimed to free the innocent who had been wrongly convicted of a crime as we know that memory is vulnerable to change. It suggests that we cannot rely solely on EWT and we need scientific evidence. For example, the use of DNA testing. Therefore, it betters society and ensures that no one is falsely accused of a crime that they didn’t commit.
