Reconstructive memory- Bartlett

• Reconstuctive memory

  • A theory of LTM developed by Bartlett
  • To register new info and make a memory, we must first search through previously stored info.
• Schemas

  • Mental frameworks that help us to organise info
  • Develop through previous experiences we have had
  • Organise categories of info and the relationships between them.
• What did Bartlett propose?

  Memories are never exact copies of what we first encoded.
• Effort after meaning


  Once the individual makes sense of the new information and links it to an existing schema or creates a new one, it gains meaning and can be stored.
• Rationalisation

  • Each time we recall the stored memory, we must reconstruct it
  • We may employ rationalisation which means that we may change the memory for it to make sense.
• Confabulation

  • Making up bits of info to fill in the gaps
  • May come from stereotypes that we hold
• War of the Ghosts

  • Bartlett found that the story became shortened because of omissions made (bits missing)
  • Phrases used reflected modern concepts
  • After 6 recall sessions it was reduced from 330 words to 180
  • Objects in the story were made more familiar through rationalisation e.g. canoe changed to boats, hunting seals changed to fishing.
• Strengths- SE- Loftus

  • Found that speed estimates of the same video clip of car accidents were different depending on the verb used in a question
  • Shows how reconstructive memory is often influenced by schemas we may have e.g. 'smashed' relates to high speed and broken glass.
• Strengths

  • SE- War of Ghosts- found that when participants were asked to reproduce an unfamiliar story, each recall was different.
  • UA- Introduction of the Devlin Report- states that we shouldn't convict someone where the only evidence is a single eyewitness account.
• Weaknesses

  • Credibility- No scientific details about how memory is reconstructed in the brain, whereas other theories for e.g. episodic and semantic memory.
  • Reductionist- isolates schemas and ignores other concepts e.g. rehearsal.
  • Credibility- only tested 'War of Ghosts' on Cambridge uni students not representative of other cultures.