Reconstructive memory

• Cognitive Psychology


  The study of how the mind works, including processes like perception, memory, learning, problem-solving, and decision-making
• The purpose of Elizabeth Loftus' experiment was to demonstrate how false memories can be implanted
• Lost in the Mall technique


  A technique used by Loftus to implant false memories in participants by asking leading questions about a childhood event that did not actually occur
• Loftus and her team attempted to plant false memories in participants by showing them fabricated photographs of their childhood and asking leading questions
• False memory


  A memory of an event that did not actually occur, but was implanted through suggestion or other means
• Approximately 25% of participants developed false memories in Loftus' experiment
• The researchers were surprised that the false memories included fabricated details, as they expected the memories to lack sensory detail
• First step in planting false memories


  Suggesting something that might have happened
• Loftus mentioned that the potential negative consequence of false memories could be the destruction of families
• Critics of the Lost in the Mall study pointed out the limitation of a small sample size
• The main concern of repressed memory therapists was the formation of false memories
• Reconstructive memory


  The idea that memories are not exact copies of events, but are actively reconstructed and influenced by our schemas (knowledge and expectations)
• Schemas


  Packets of knowledge about events, people, or places that influence how we perceive and remember information

  
• Memories are not stored as exact forms, but as notes that we elaborate on using our general knowledge and schemas
• Bartlett called the general knowledge used to reconstruct memories "schemas"</b>
• Schemas are unique to each individual and develop over time through our own experiences
• Leveling is a process of simplifying things, while sharpening is a process of highlighting and overemphasizing details
• Assimilating involves changing details to fit our backgrounds and knowledge
• Schemas can be prejudiced and determined by social values
• Memory is not always reliable and unbiased
• Reconstruction of a memory occurs when the memory is recalled, not when it is initially formed
• In Bartlett's study, participants did not accurately recall the Native American folk story
• Memories are not like photographic records, but are influenced by our beliefs and expectations
• Active reconstruction


  The idea that memory is not an exact copy of what we experienced, but an interpretation or reconstruction of events that is influenced by our schemas
• Omissions


  Leaving out unfamiliar, irrelevant, or unpleasant details when remembering something
• Transformations


  Changing details to make them more familiar and rational
• Familiarisation


  Changing unfamiliar details to align with our own schemas
• Rationalisation


  Adding details into our recall to give a reason for something that may not have originally fitted with a schema
• Assimilation


  Changing our schemas to fit new information we have learned
• Accommodation


  Changing our memories to keep our schemas intact and unchanged
• Levelling


  Removing or downplaying details from a memory
• Sharpening


  Adding or exaggerating details in a memory
• Schemas might fill in gaps in our memory (confabulation) and even put pressure on our mind to remember things in a way that fits in with the schema, removing or changing details
• Research evidence


  • Allport & Postman (1947) study
  • Loftus & Palmer (1974) study
• Cognitive interview


  A police interview technique designed to ensure a witness to a crime does not actively reconstruct their memory
• Ecological validity


  The extent to which the findings of a study still explain behaviour in different situations
• Subjective


  Based on personal opinion or feelings, rather than facts