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- RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY: a term usually associated with Bartlett, which refers to a memory distorted
by the individuals prior knowledge and expectations
- EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY: an area of memory research that investigates the accuracy of memory following
an accident, crime or other significant event, and the types of errors that are commonly made in such situations
KEY TERMS
We do not record memories passively, as we would if we were taking a photo. We need to make an effort after
meaning in order to make more sense of the event. So, instead of storing an exact replica of the initial stimulus,
we weave it with elements of our existing knowledge and experience to form a reconstructed memory
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Schemas
We store memories in terms of our past experience or schemas, which are knowledge or
packages, built up through experience of the world and can aid the interpretation of new
information (restaurant schema).
Cohen (1993) suggested 5 ways in which schemas might lead to reconstructive memory
1. We tend to ignore aspects of a scene that do not fit the currently activated schema
2. We can store the central features of an event without having to store the exact details(c)
3. We can make sense of what we have seen by filling in missing information (running)
4. We distort memories for events to fit in with prior expectations (bank robber)
5. We may use schemas to provide the basis for a correct guess (breakfast-cereal)
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What happens to the original memory? Loftus believes that, in the light of misleading information, the original
memory is deleted and replaced by the new, false memory. Other researchers have disputed this and claim that the
original memory trace is still available, even though it has been obscured by new information.
Evaluation of Loftus research. Important contribution but criticized for artificiality and her method of testing recall.