Topic 2 – Cognitive Psychology Lesson seven – reconstructive memory (Bartlett, 1972)

Bartlett (1932) Reconstructive Memory Bartlett insisted on representing memory in real context He believed memory should not be divided up into its constituent parts and treated as independent from other functioning This is? Bartlett believed memory should be studied in a special way to capture the relationship between memory and other cognitive processes

Reconstructive memory What just happened? Reconstructive memory Bartlett Rummage Meaning – easily stored

Bransford & Johnson (1972) the topic served to activate the relevant schema — doing laundry — and unlike in the first study, it was a schema that the participants already had somewhere in their heads. Just like the picture, though, the topic helped the participants to work out the structure of the paragraph so that they could make sense of it, and this allowed them to remember more about it.

Bransford & Johnson (1972)

Schema – plans/scripts built up using experiences - affects processing Pairs – relate this to information processing Where do schemes play a role? How could this affect output?

Practical task – read though the story twice. At your own pace.

Why do you think participants changed the story? Three patterns of distortion- Assimilation/confabulation: Leveling: Rationalisation: Changes became more pronounced depending on the interval e.g. 15 mins, 1 week, 3 weeks etc. After 2 years it was recalled very briefly.

Evaluation Which evaluation points are you going to use? Fill out the evaluation table – or draw your own and complete it ensuring you provide enough detail to explain your point. Using the next slide, your ebook and the resources uploaded on the learner space complete the table.

Evaluation Evidence to support the theory comes from Bartlett (WOTG) and Loftus & Palmer (1974) (summary on learner space) Plus Bartlett replicated the study many times and found the same overall shortening and assimilation. He also reproduced the study using different stories and images How can we criticise supporting evidence? Bartlett: Loftus and Palmer: Opposing research - Wynn & Logie (1998) (summary on the learner space) Application to Eye witness testimony in courts Reductionist?

H/W APRC – Key Study: Baddeley (1966b) APRC - Using you e-books and extra resources on the learner space It is essential for you to understand the study and have your notes in order for you to be able to participate in the next lesson.

Practice questions/ideas Explain 2 strengths and 2 weakness of the theory of reconstructive memory (8 marks) Evaluate the theory of reconstructive memory (Bartlett, 1932) (8 marks) Evaluate the theory of reconstructive memory (Bartlett, 1932) (12 marks) Relating your knowledge to describe a scenario - See exam tip on page 106 of your e-books