Bartlett's reconstructive memory

• Bartlett's reconstructive memory


  Memory is not perfectly formed, encoded or retrieved or a tape recorder

  Past and current experiences of individuals would affect their memory for events.

  Input then processes and interpretation
• Schematas


  parcels of stored knowledge or mental representation of information about a specific event or object
• Confabulation


  making up bits of information to fill in a memory so it makes sense
• Rationalisation


  add details in our recall to give a reason for something that may not originally fit in with a schema
• Omission


  Leave out unfamiliar, irrelevant or unpleasant details
• Familiarisation


  change unfamiliar details to align our own schema
• Transformation


  details changed to make them more familiar
• War of the Ghosts study


  An unfamiliar folk story

  This study found that participants altered recall of the subject to better fit their personal world views
• Strengths of reconstructive


  - Supporting research evidence - War of Ghosts

  - Good application to real life, , eyewitness testimony is no longer acceptable as the sole form of evidence when convicting someone. police and courts with eyewitnesses
• Weakness of reconstructive


  war of the ghost study showed to have demand characteristics

  doesn't explain how memory is reconstructive

  Bartletts and Loftus' work uses artificial tasks, as is the situation