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RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY
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RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY 
Definition: Reconstructive memory means that the information retrieved is not a reconstruction of some intact record but is actually reconstructed from various elements and will depend on our perceptions, beliefs, past experiences, cultural context, and the particular circumstances under which we recall the information.
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Schemas: Our mental frameworks or schemas shape how we encode and retrieve memories. They influence what details we pay attention to and how we interpret experiences.
According to Bartlett, in an effort to make sense of past events, we try to do more than simply reproduce the original material we are attempting to remember.
LOFTUS AND PICKRELL 1995
AIM
This study aimed to see if researchers could create false memories of events that never actually happened.
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EVALUATION
The study showed that suggestion was capable of producing false memories, but only 25 percent of participants were able to recall the manipulated event. It's unsure why some participants seemed to be more susceptible than others. Memories could be validated through information given by family members.
Strengths:
High ecological validity since participants discussed true childhood memories.
Results are applicable to eyewitness testimony and therapy.
Limitations:
It is difficult to ascertain whether the recalled memory is indeed false or a distortion of a real experience.
Ethical: The use of deception here poses ethical issues.
Conducting the survey at home would have introduced contamination because the respondents would have consulted with others.
The results may be influenced by demand characteristics such as social desirability.
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The participants in the study included 24 in total with 3 males and all the rest being females. Prior to the study, a parent or sibling would contact and ask the participant to provide three authentic childhood memories and then one false memory where they got lost in a mall.
They were mailed a questionnaire to write about four memories: three true ones and one fake ("getting lost in the mall"). If they didn't remember it, they were told to write, "I do not remember this."
The participants received two interviews spread over four weeks. They reported on details concerning the memories and rated their confidence in each memory on a scale of 1 to 10. After the second interview, they were debriefed to identify which one of the memories was false.
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RESULTS
about 25% of the participants "recalled" this false memory.
However, they also rated this memory as less confident than the other memories
They wrote less regarding memory on their questionnaire.
LOFTUS AND PALMER experiment 1
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PROCEDURE
In the first experiment, forty-five undergraduate participants observed videos of traffic accidents and then responded to related questions. In keeping with the presumption that the words one uses affect what is perceived as severe, participants were also asked how fast the cars were going when they "smashed" or "hit.".
The researchers hypothesized that "smashed" would result in higher speed estimates compared to "hit." In this experiment, wording was the independent variable and estimated speed the dependent variable.
The 45 subjects were divided into five groups of nine. They viewed seven different car crash videos, each ranging from 5 to 30 seconds long. After viewing, the subjects retold what happened and also completed a questionnaire that contained one thought-provoking question related to speed estimation."
The words used varied, including such words as "hit," "collided," "bumped," "smashed," and "contacted."
This study, therefore set out to explore how leading questions would influence memory recall and perceptions of events.
EVALUATION
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It was conducted in an experimental laboratory in which students served as participants, and so it is limited to ecological validity.
First, the film clips of accident types used were mainly for teaching purposes, and the participants may not feel it as a real accident will be felt.
This kind of experimental design has the strength of having the capacity to control confounding variables, such that the measured effects are brought upon by the independent variable.
Although the sample of students would not represent the general population, the subjects probably were younger and less experienced car users, which may have biased this estimation of car speeds. Another important factor here is that most people are not very good judges of vehicle speed.
RESULTS
Speed Estimates: Participants who were asked the question using the word “smashed” estimated higher speeds (average around 40.8 mph) compared to those who heard “hit” (average around 34.0 mph).
Influence of Wording: This demonstrated that the phrasing of questions significantly affected participants' speed estimates.
LOFTUS AND PALMER EXPERIMENT 2
AIM
The aim of the experiment was to examine whether participants who provided a high speed estimate in the first part would later claim to have seen broken glass in the second part.
The researchers hypothesized that this effect would occur.
PROCEDURE A total of 150 students participated in this experiment, all divided into a number of groups of various sizes. They all watched a 1-minute film depicting a multi-car accident that lasted about 4 seconds.
After the film, the students received a questionnaire.
After they had viewed the film, the subjects responded to a questionnaire. In Loftus and Palmer's (1994) second experiment, subjects gave a description of the accident in their own words, and then were presented with additional questions.
Fifty were asked, "About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" Another fifty were asked, "About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?" The final fifty did not estimate speed.
One week later, participants returned to answer more questions, including this important one: "Did you see any broken glass?" Participants answered "yes" or "no."
Although broken glass never appeared in the movie, it was thought that seeing broken glass would relate to greater speed estimates.
RESULTS
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More participants reported seeing broken glass when the word "smashed" was used. Conversely, those who did not recall seeing glass were less likely to do so when the word "control" was used.
EVALUATION
Inferences of this experiment are understood based on Bartlett's theory of reconstructive memory, that individuals tend to modify details of an incident while trying to recall it.
This must have been the case while Loftus and Palmer's study as subjects tried to remember the details from the way questions were asked about the speeds of cars and whether they heard "hit" or "smashed."
Participants may have relied on their previous experiences of critical car accidents to determine whether they remembered the occurrence of broken glass or not (schema processing).
In addition, the research has faced criticisms regarding issues of low ecological validity, a result of which is an incapacity to generalise the findings towards everyday life.
RONALD COTTON CASE
AIM RONALD COTTON CASE
To improve the accuracy of eyewitness testimony and reduce the incidence of wrongful convictions by applying research findings on memory, identification processes, and cognitive interviewing techniques.
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RESULTS
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There is an increased recognition of the factors that affect memory and identification, which will shape the training procedures for policemen.
The adjustments in collecting eyewitness testimony have shown a more scientifically aware approach, but this nevertheless contributes to a more just criminal justice process.
EVALUATION
According to research, these methods greatly improve the credibility of eyewitness reports.
Studies have proven that sequential line-ups, as well as cognitive interviews, result in a higher incidence of correct identification and much lower false identification rates.
Better results were reported in investigations, while higher public confidence was recorded toward the judiciary among law enforcement agencies that implemented these techniques.
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