Memory 2 Flashcards
(37 cards)
what are the key points to outline the reconstructive memory theory?
- memory is inaccurate
- reconstruction
- social/cultural influences
- effort after meaning
According to Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory, why do we reconstruct our memories?
Reconstruction, according to this theory, is that we reconstruct memories using small fragments of an event to fully form a new version of that memory.
According to Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory, why is our memory inaccurate?
The reconstructive memory theory says that our memory is inaccurate because we tend to change the way that we recall memories based on the small details that we remember, and it says that memory is an active process, in which we use fragments of a stimuli that we can remember, and then create new ways of recalling that event by using those fragments in order to create a proper story.
According to Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory, why do we change our memories based on cultural and social expectations? Use the example of the ‘War of the Ghosts’ study
According to the reconstructive theory, we alter or change our memories due to the influence of social and cultural biases, where for example, if the participants in the Bartlett War of the Ghosts study, some details, such as the race of the men or the activities were altered or ignored to fit the expectations of the participants due to their cultural biases. This shows that when reconstructing our memories, we are also influenced by our social and cultural biases and this can affect the accuracy of our memories.
According to Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory, why do we use effort after meaning?
When the fragments or the stimuli is unclear, we use effort after meaning, where we change the story that we heard after in order to make it make sense.
what is effort after meaning?
Effort after meaning means that we make sense of something unfamiliar after it has happened. In relation to memory, this means that we often change them so that they make sense to us. As a result, memory is not an exact stored copy of facts, it is an active process of putting information together (a reconstruction)
what is an advantage of Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory? (research reflects real life memory)
A strength of Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory is that it reflects how we use memory in our daily lives. This is because the research doesn’t use word lists or nonsense syllables but instead uses a story which can be easily applicable to real life, where we commonly use stories to communicate. Therefore, this makes the findings more relevant to real-life memory processes, increasing the validity.
what is an advantage of Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory?(eye witness testimony)
Another strength of Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory is that it explains problems with eyewitness testimony (EWT). Barlett’s research shows that memory is affected by expectations, showing that people do not always recall accurately and that they might use effort after meaning to make what they witnessed make sense, which can make their recounts inaccurate. Therefore, EWT is no longer solely relied on as evidence in criminal investigation, this increases the validity of the study.
what is a disadvantage of Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory? (not all memories are reconstructed - war of the ghosts)
A weakness of Bartlett’s reconstructive memory theory is that there is evidence to suggest that not all memories are reconstructed. For example, in the “War of the Ghosts” study, participants often recalled that ‘something black came out of his mouth’ because it was a distinctive and memorable phrase. This shows that some memories are accurate. Therefore, this reduces the validity since the results of his study contradicts his theory.
what was the aim of the Bartlett “War of the Ghosts” study?
The aim of Bartlett’s study was to find out how memory is reconstructed when asked to recall an unfamiliar story from another culture.
what was the research method used in the Bartlett “War of the Ghosts” study?
The research method used was a lab experiment, where there was control of any extraneous variables.
what was the method used in the Bartlett “War of the Ghosts” study?
The participants were asked to read a Native American folk story called “War of the Ghosts”, where 15 minutes later the first participant had to retell the story and had to reproduce what they could remember from the story and told that version to the second participant. This person than retold the story to somebody else, which repeated several times during the weeks that followed.
what were the results in the Bartlett “War of the Ghosts” study?
The results showed that when the story was passed on 10 times, he found 4 key findings: the passage was much shorter, there were lots of emissions and changes of key details, and the order of events were changed.
what was the conclusion in the Bartlett “War of the Ghosts” study?
Bartlett concluded that our memory is not an exact copy of what we hear. We distort our memories according to what we already know about the world. Therefore, memory is influenced by our own beliefs.
what is reconstructive memory?
Reconstructive memory is when 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.
why is memory an active process according to Bartlett?
People tend to remember the overall meaning of events and reconstruct the story from this overall meaning, showing that memory is an active process since we actively construct our memory.
What is a strength of Bartlett’s “War of the Ghosts” study? (similar findings, white vs black)
One strength of Bartlett’s research is similar findings in other studies. This is because in another study, white participants were shown a picture of a black and white man having an argument, where participants had to describe the image and then retold it to other participants. Similar to Bartlett’s study, there were some changes. Participants had said that the weapon was held by the black man, when it was actually held by the white man. This supports his theory about memory being an active process, as participants had changed what happened in order to fit their expectations and cultural beliefs towards black people. Therefore, this increases the validity of the study as there is supporting evidence.
What is a weakness of Bartlett’s “War of the Ghosts” study? (limited participants)
One weakness of Bartlett’s study is the participants used were only University students. This is a weakness because that would mean that his sample was biased and unrepresentative of the target population. All these students were English students, meaning that they would have been likely to be better at reading and explaining a story than other people in the target population, e.g. older, younger, not an English student. Therefore, this reduces the validity and the generalisations that can be made about the findings of the study.
What is a weakness of Bartlett’s “War of the Ghosts” study? (his beliefs)
Another criticism of Bartlett’s study is his own beliefs may have affected the results. This is because the final conclusions can depend on the interpretation of the results, where Bartlett analysed each example of recall and had to decide what had counted as accurate recall and what didn’t. Since Bartlett had already believed that recall would be affected by cultural expectations, he may have been more likely to notice this pattern in the results. Therefore, we can’t fully trust the results of this study as he might have been biased, reducing the validity of the study.
what are the 3 factors that affects the accuracy of memory?
- interference
- context
- false memories
what is interference?
Interference is the difficulty of remembering information if it is competing with another piece of information and it gets in the way. Forgetting might occur if 2 SIMILAR memories are being confused.
Interference can happen in 2 ways: proactive interference or retroactive interference
what is proactive interference?
proactive interference is when new information might not be remembered because old information that we already know can get in the way and disrupts the recall
what is retroactive interference?
retroactive is when old information might not be remembered because new incoming information disrupts the recall
briefly outline the study that investigates the effect of interference on the accuracy of memory
- The effects of interference on the accuracy of memory was investigated by McGeoch and McDonald (1931), where they aimed to find out what the effect of doing 2 activities had on the accuracy of memory.
- The research method used was a lab experiment.
- They did this by making 12 participants learn a list of 10 words and then another list of varying types such as synonyms and antonyms, where there were 5 other word lists like this.
- The results showed that memory was affected by the second list, where the amount of accurately recalled words were affected if the words had similar meanings (synonyms).
- McGeoch and McDonald were able to conclude that interference affects the accuracy of memory, especially if the two things are similar.