Bartlett's theory of reconstructive memory (pack 3)

Question 1

What did Bartlett argue memory was like?

Answer 1

it was NOT a tape recorder and could be changed and transformed

Question 2

How did he say our experiences could affect our memory

Answer 2

our previous and current experiences affect the way information is perceived, stored and retrieved

Question 3

how did Bartlett demonstrate reconstructive memory

Answer 3

through a war of the ghosts story and had them recall it

Question 4

What 4 reasons did Bartlett have for using that story in his studies

Answer 4

1. It was culturally unfamiliar to participants
2. It lacked any rational order
3. the dramatic nature of the story would encourage visual imaging
4. The conclusion was supernatural and Bartlett wanted to see how PPT would perceive this

Question 5

What did Bartlett find happened when the story was reproduced

Answer 5

the story would transform over time
for example: became shorter due to omissions

Question 6

What 3 things did Bartlett memory was prone to as to why it is not accurate

Answer 6

1. Omissions (leaving things out that don’t make sense)
2. rationalisation (make the story more logical to a ppt)
3. transformation (putting parts of the story in a different order or changing words to more familiar ones)

Question 7

what does Bartlett say ‘effort after meaning’ means?

Answer 7

we try to connect something to a memory or some prev. knowledge or experience

Question 8

What does Bartlett say we draw upon when we cannot remember everything and have to ‘fill in the gaps’

Answer 8

schemas

Question 9

What are schemas?

Answer 9

parcels of stored knowledge or mental representation of information about a specific event or object.

Question 10

3 strengths for Bartlett’s reconstructive memory?

Answer 10

1. research evidence- BREWNER AND TREYENS- wait in office and recall items seen…recalled expected items but not unexpected like plyers and some that weren’t actually there
   ALLPORT AND POSTMAN- white ppt reversed appearances and saw it as the black man holding the knife
2. Eco. Validity high- more similar to real life instead of memorising trigrams
3. practical applications- EWT as being unreliable

Question 11

3 weaknesses of Bartlett’s reconstructive memory?

Answer 11

1. Low internal validity- lack of control and standardisation…qualitative: described nature it was recalled and open to subjective interpretation
2. War of Ghosts story criticised as not being relevant to every day life…unfamiliar and therefore lacks validity
3. applications- not all memories are inaccurate or affected by schemas…remembered ‘black came out his mouth’ as it was unusual so don’t always reconstruct
4. Theory is incomplete, schemas are vague and offers no explanation of how they are acquired in the first place SO lowers validity