Reconstructive Memory and Factors Affecting Accuracy
Memory is not a perfect recording. The theory of reconstructive memory says we rebuild our memories each time, and this can make them inaccurate. Learn how schemas shape recall and the factors that affect how accurate a memory is.
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Memory is not a recording
It feels as though memory works like a video camera, saving events exactly as they happened. Psychologists disagree. The theory of reconstructive memory says we actively rebuild a memory each time we recall it, and this rebuilding can change what we remember. That is why memories can be inaccurate.
Words to know
Four ideas run through this topic. Learn them first.
What does the theory say?
According to the theory of reconstructive memory, what is a memory?
- An active rebuilding that can change each time we recall it
- A perfect recording of an event, saved exactly as it happened
- Something that is deleted as soon as it is used
- A copy that never changes once it is stored
Match the term
- Reconstructive memory
- Schema
- Effort after meaning
- False memory
- Rebuilding a memory rather than replaying a recording
- A package of prior knowledge used to fill gaps
- Changing details so a memory fits what you expect
- Remembering something that did not happen
Recording or reconstruction?
The theory contrasts two views of how memory works.
Match the factor
- Interference
- Context
- False memory
- Effort after meaning
- Other memories get in the way and confuse recall
- Recall is better when the setting matches the original event
- Remembering an event that did not actually take place
- Reshaping a story so it makes more sense to you
The War of the Ghosts
The theory is supported by the War of the Ghosts study. Bartlett asked people to read an unfamiliar folk story and recall it later. They changed the parts that did not fit their own culture, dropping strange details and adding familiar ones, so their versions made more sense to them. This shows memory being rebuilt, not replayed.
Complete the sentence
The theory of reconstructive memory says we _____ a memory when we recall it, rather than replaying a recording. We use a _____, a package of prior knowledge, to fill in gaps. Changing details so they fit what we expect is called effort after _____. When other memories get in the way of recall, that is _____. Recall is usually better when the _____ matches the original event.
Factors affecting accuracy
Which of these are factors that affect the accuracy of memory in this topic? Choose all that apply.
- Interference
- Context
- False memories
- The multi-store model
- The primacy effect
True or false
An interactive activity.
Where you learned it
A student revises in a silent room but sits the exam in a noisy hall. According to the context factor, what is likely?
- Recall may be worse because the setting does not match the revision
- Recall will always be better in a new setting
- The context makes no difference to recall at all
- The memory is deleted by the noise
How a memory is distorted
An interactive activity.
Name the factor
An interactive activity.
Explain the theory
An interactive activity.