reconstructive memory

Question 1

what are schemas?

Answer 1

• cognitive plans/scripts that are built up using experiences about everyday life, affects processing of information

Question 2

how do schemas influence memory?

Answer 2

• new knowledge that conflicts with existing schema might fail to be encoded
• when you later try and recall the memory, only recall elements that fit with the relevant schema

Question 3

what is assimilation?

Answer 3

• making new information fit with your existing understanding of the world

Question 4

what is accommodation?

Answer 4

• new information causes you to change your existing schemas

Question 5

what is rationalisation?

Answer 5

• reasoning about what happened so it makes sense to you

Question 6

what is confabulation?

Answer 6

• unconsciously filling in any gaps in recall with previous experiences

Question 7

what is simplification?

Answer 7

• simplifying the story by removing parts that dont fit into schemas

Question 8

what is reconstructive memory?

Answer 8

• an active process
• highlights how recall is affected by previous experiences and highlights importance of schemas

Question 9

summarise the procedure of bartletts war of the ghosts study

Answer 9

• 20 students shown a native american story with unusual features
• recalled after hours,days,weeks and even years
• serial reproduction design
• compared reproduced versions to the original

Question 10

how did participants in the war of the ghosts study use rationalisation and simplification?

Answer 10

• rationalisation = didnt grasp the role of the ghosts so described it as a battle between native american tribes
• simplification = story became shorter each time, after 6 sessions it reduced from 330 to 180

Question 11

what was the opposing study of wynn and logie?

Answer 11

• asked uni students to recall their first week several times throughout the year
• accuray of descriptions remained the same each time
• memories for familiar events doesnt change over time

Question 12

what is the opposing study of Yuille and Cutshall?

Answer 12

• witnesses of a real life crime who had observed a gun shooting in vancouver
• 13 interviewed after crime and 4 months later
• 2 misleading questions asked
• leading questions had little effect 10/13 accounts didnt change or recall misleading information

Question 13

how can you evaluate bartletts study for task validity?

Answer 13

• low
• not usually asked to remember and recall a random story

Question 14

why may other theories such as flashbulb memories be better?

Answer 14

• reconstructive memory doesnt tell us how memory is reconstructed

Question 15

what did bartlett do that improves the reliability of his theory?

Answer 15

• repeated his study using 8 different stories on different participants
• same overall general shortening, transformation and omission

Question 16

what is an application with dementia patients ?

Answer 16

• validation therapy
• go with the schemas that the patient has as it is less distressing

Question 17

what is an application regarding EWT?

Answer 17

• devlin report = shouldnt be a conviction on EWT alone as it is inaccurate

Question 18

how can schemas be used to explain false memories (example case)?

Answer 18

• John Menezes mistaken for a terrorist and shot by the police after the london bombing
• many eyewitnesses saw the shooting but recollections were widely different and often exaggerated
• schemas about appearance and behaviour of terrorists may have sharpened memories

Question 19

what is the supporting study of loftus and palmer?

Answer 19

• 45 students watched a short film of a car accident
• asked to give speed estimates and asked leading questions
• smashed = 40 mph, hit = 34 mph

Question 20

what is the supporting study of cordua et al?

Answer 20

• 128 five and six yr old shown films featuring male and female doctors and nurses
• asked questions for recall
• if seen a female doctor and male nurse they tended to report the genders the other way around

Question 21

what is a weakness about schemas?

Answer 21

• unfalsifiable theory lacks credibility as there is no scientific evidence for this form of memory

Question 22

is the theory reductionist?

Answer 22

• yes because memory processing is more complex than this

Question 23

what is a weakness of loftus and palmer study?

Answer 23

• the experiment is artificial and lacks task validity
• watching a car crash on film will not provoke the same emotional response