Reconstructive Memory and Factors Affecting Accuracy

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.

Schema words

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

Recording or reconstruction?

The theory contrasts two views of how memory works.

Match the factor

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.

Recall rebuilds the memory

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

Tap the two statements that are true about reconstructive memory.

• Memory is an active reconstruction, not a perfect recording.
• Schemas can cause us to change details when we recall.
• Memory works like a video camera that stores events exactly.
• Reconstructive memory means recall is always perfectly accurate.

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

Put the steps of how a memory can become distorted in order.

• An event happens and you pay attention to it
• Only a partial trace of the event is stored
• When you recall, you rebuild the memory from that trace
• Your schema fills the gaps with what you expect
• The memory you recall now differs from the real event

Name the factor

Read each situation and choose the factor at work.

• A witness recalls the robber wearing a hat, because robbers in films usually wear hats, although this one did not.
• A student keeps mixing up their new Spanish words with the French words they learned last year.
• A diver remembers a word list better when tested underwater, where the list was first learned.

Explain the theory

Explain the theory of reconstructive memory and describe one factor that can affect the accuracy of a memory.

• Say what reconstructive memory claims about how we remember
• Explain how schemas can change what we recall
• Describe one factor, such as interference or context, and its effect