bartletts theory of reconstructive memory

What’s the aim of Bartlett

To investigate how memory of a story is affected by previous knowledge

Procedure of Bartlett

-used repeated reproduction which was when participants were asked to repeat the story over a period of days months years

-used serial reproduction when participants will pass on the story to others who will retell it (Chinese whispers)

-participants were all British so the story was unknown as it was a Native American ledgend

Findings of Bartlett

Participants changed the story as they were trying to remember it (called distortion) there were three patterns (assimilation,leveling,sharpening)

Assimilated

Changed so it could become more consistent with participants own cultural expectations

Leveling

Leaving out info which is seen as irrelevant

Sharpening

Changing the order of a story and adding in more details to make it more familiar

Strength

-it showed a way of studying cognitive processes scientifically so it made it easier to understand human memory

-Bartlett is now recognized as one of the first cognitive psychologists

Weakness

-performed in a laboratory so lacks ecological validity

-not representative of everyday memory tasks

-participants did not have a set time