Bartlett (1932)

Bartlett (1932)

1. Summary

   • PPs read an unfamiliar story and tries to rewrite it after 15mins without knowing before
     • Find out if unfamiliarity would lead to distortion of memory
   • Conclusion
     • PPs didn't recall the story accurately but altered it based on their schema through familiarisation and rationalisation - shows memory being reconstructed

2. Strength

   • Reliability
     • Replicated his procedure many times and found similar results using various stories and pictures (consistency)
   • Ecological Validity
     • Realistic memory tasks which can be applied to explain reconstructive memory in everyday life

3. Weakness

   • Subjectivity
     • Uses qualitative data and compared the retold stories with the original to look for and interpret changes, he might have interpreted using his own theories and ideas so it lacks scientific rigour
   • Internal Validity
     • Lacks control of the amount of time between PPs reading and retelling the story so the results will be affected by the differences in time intervals making it difficult to make accurate comparisons