just bc memory reconstructive, doesn't make reliable

• is this for or against?

  against
• what is a schema?

  psychological representation of everything you know about an object, person or event
• what are schemas packets of?

  information that are built through experiences
• what do schemas for complex events involve?

  idea of a script
• what may a script of an event do?

  distort our memory of that event
• what did Bartlett find?

  we tend to reconstruct events for them to fit in with our existing schemas
• how do we reconstruct events?

  shorten or summarise events

  leave out details

  make story more coherent (logical)

  conventionalise story so that it becomes predictable
• what is the reason why all these changes occur?

  we're constantly interpreting events/information to save ourselves cognitive time & energy so they fit with existing schema
• why does saving cognitive time mean?

  we both add & take away things from an accurate recording of events
• how can this relate to EWT?

  EWT is unreliable because things are added and taken away so account may be inaccurate
• what is some research on reconstructive memory being unreliable?

  Yarmey (1993)
• what did Yarmey research?

  asked 240 students to look at videos of 30 unknown males & classify them as 'good' or 'bad'
• what were the findings?

  high agreement amongst participants
• what does the agreements amongst participants suggest?

  there is similarity in the information stored in 'bad' and 'good' guy schemas
• what may influence decision on suspect in line-up or photo array?

  preconceived ideas about facial features of criminals
• what do the research findings suggest?

  eye-witnesses may not select the actual criminal, but individual who looks most like criminal
• what is some wider reading for this argument?

  Ronald Cotton
• what happened to Ronald Cotton?

  wrongfully convicted for a rape he did not commit due to EWT
• who was he wrongfully convicted of raping?

  Jennifer Thompson
• why was Ronald found not guilty?

  due to DNA tests
• what happened after Ronald was found not guilty and Bobby guilty?

  Jen felt shame ('suffocating, debilitating shame'), cried & apologised to Ronald (who forgave her)
• why was Ronald wrongfully convicted?

  Jennifer's EWT was incorrect & lead to imprisonment of wrong man for 11 yrs