Reconstructive Memory - Bartlett

• What did Psychologists originally believe about memory?

  That it was reproductive, meaning information is processed and then recalled when needed
• What did Bartlett argue? and when?

  That memory was not reproductive but reconstructive, where memory is stored in fragments, and when needed to be recalled, the information is reconstructed, leading to some elements to go missing or become distorted
• What study did Bartlett do to test his theory on reconstructive memory?

  The "War of Ghosts" study
• What did Bartlett's study involve?

  Getting 40 British participants to read an american folk tale, and get them to recall the story from memory after 15 minutes
• What was the procedure for the study?

  • Ask one participant to read the folk tale
  • After 15 mins ask them to recall the story
  • Give this recollection of the story to another participant, and repeat the process

  This is called Serial Reproduction
• What were his findings?

  The story transformed over time, with omissions making it shorter, phrases being changed to match their culture ("Canoe" --> "Boat"). Bartlett explained the reasoning with Schema theory
• What is a Schema?

  Mental packages containing all our stored information on our aspects of the world
• What do Schemas allow us to do?

  To create images of certain setting based on your own knowledge
• How do Schemas influence memory?

  If certain information doesn't align with Schema, then the new information will be rejected. This is why when memories are recalled, elements are often missing or distorted
• What is a strength to Bartlett's study?

  Ecological Validity - The study used a more realistic scenario to test memory, rather than artificial materials like gibberish
• What is a weakness to Bartlett's study?

  Reliability - Bartlett didn't use a set of standardised of instructions, which led to participants having different experiences and so created demand characteristics - resulting in a lack of replicability
• What is an arguement to Bartlett's theory

  Some memories can be really accurate depending on if the situation is personally important or distinctive, for example:

  • In the study people often recalled the quote "Something black came out his mouth" as it's very distinctive
• What has Schema Theory been applied to?

  The corruption of Eye Witness Testimony