GCSE Psychology 9-1

Pychology 9-1 GCSE -  2.2.1 - Barlett (1932) war of the ghosts: Aims -  To test the theory of reconstructive memory . Procedures -  To do this Bartlett played a game of “Chinese whispers” and asked students to pass on a story they are told to the next student. The story they were told was a Native American story which was culturally very different to what western students would be use to. It involved Native Americans travelling in canoes and fighting another group which turned out to be ghosts. Findings -  That the war of the ghosts story had dramatically changed by the time it reached the final student. Students were found to have altered the story so it fit into their own experiences and culture. For example instead of canoes, students recalled the mode of transport being cars and weapons as guns instead of bow and arrows. Conclusions -  That memory was not accurate recordings of events but constructed and reconstructed to fit in with the i...

Psychology 9-1 GCSE -  2.1.4 - Understand the active process of memory through the Theory of Reconstructive Memory (Bartlett, 1932), including strengths and weaknesses of the theory: a) How schemas are formed -  Barlett believed schemas were formed by our experiences and how we interpret them, these give us a set out frame and point of view on things. b) How schemas influence memory -  As memory is reconstructive, parts of your memory can changed if it is influenced to by your schema, and if not changed then you often add on details you didn't necessarily sense or know because it's what makes sense with your schema.