Reconstructive Memory Flashcards
Who proposed this theory and when was it proposed
Bartlett - 1932
What is schemas
A mental structure in the memory, a package containing all our stored knowledge of aspects of the world
What does assimilate new information mean
Changing our schemas to fit what we have learned
What does accommodate new information mean
Changing our memories to keep our schema intact and unchanged
2 ways we accommodate
- levelling
- sharpening
What is levelling
Removing / downplaying details from the memory e.g. refusing to watch an LGBTQ+ film
What is sharpening
Adding/ exaggerating details e.g will watch something that will fit the stereotypes they believe in
What is confabulation
When the schema fills in gaps in our memory / tells us what is supposed to happen
What is Rationalisation
The coming up with explanations for baffling and confusing information to make sense of a situation
Results of the war of the ghosts study
- participants shortened the story
- participants confabulated details
- participants rationalised the story
AO3- Hogeway dementia village
- residents choose to live and spend time in areas of the village themed around their schemas
- idea to go along with dementia sufferers schemas is central to Validation Theory
AO3 - Loftus
- carried out a range of lab experiments into reconstructive memory
- had experimental controls, standardised procedures which makes it reliable and improves validity
AO3 - John Charles De Mendes (2005)
- John was mistaken for a terrorist and shot by the police
- eyewitnesses often exaggerated what they saw
- supports the idea of sharpened and levelling
AO3 - Bartlett’s war of Ghost study
- lacks ecological validly
- unreliable
AO3 - link to Tulvings theories
- links to Tulving theory of semantic memory
- semantic stores and schemas are very similar
- increases validity
