Reconstructive Memory & Schema Theory (Barlett 1932)

Question 1

what is reconstructive memory

Answer 1

• fragments of stored information are reassembled during recall
• the gaps are filled in by our expectations and beliefs so that we can produce a story that makes sense

Question 2

what are schemas

Answer 2

packets of knowledge about how something in the world works or is.

Question 3

what happens when we encode information

Answer 3

• our schemas influence this
• because if new knowledge conflicts with existing schema it could easily fail to be encoded at all.
• if it doesnt fit with what you expect it might register in your memory because you don’t notice

Question 4

what happens when we come to recall something

Answer 4

we fill in gaps with information from our schemas
- other bits that don’t fit might be forgotten completely or could be distorted to fit in an existing schema.

Question 5

why may our recall be inaccurate

Answer 5

our recall is reconstructed from our actual memory of something and how we think it should be

Question 6

what is confabulation

Answer 6

when we use our past experiences, best guesses and imagination to reconstruct memories