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{{Short description| A theory of memory recall}}
'''Reconstructive memory''' is a theory of [[Recall (memory)|memory recall]], in which the act of remembering is influenced by various other cognitive processes including [[perception]], [[imagination]], [[motivation]], [[semantic memory]] and [[beliefs]], amongst others. People view their memories as being a coherent and truthful account of [[episodic memory]] and believe that their perspective is free from an error during recall. However, the reconstructive process of memory recall is subject to distortion by other intervening cognitive functions and operations such as individual perceptions, social influences, and world knowledge, all of which can lead to errors during reconstruction.
[[File: Brain limbicsystem.svg|right|frame|The areas most actively involved in episodic encoding and retrieval are the medial temporal lobe (hippocampus) and the prefrontal lobe.]]
==Reconstructive process==
Memory rarely relies on a literal recount of past experiences. By using multiple interdependent cognitive processes and functions, there is never a single ___location in the brain where a given complete [[Multiple trace theory|memory trace]] of experience is stored.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Squire|first1=LR|year=1992|title=Memory and the hippocampus: a synthesis from findings with rats, monkeys, and humans|url=http://whoville.ucsd.edu/PDFs/188_Squire_PsychRev_1992.pdf|journal=Psychol. Rev.|volume=99|issue=2|pages=195–231|doi=10.1037/0033-295x.99.2.195|pmid=1594723}}</ref> Rather, memory is dependent on constructive processes during encoding that may introduce errors or distortions. Essentially, the constructive memory process functions by encoding the patterns of perceived physical characteristics, as well as the interpretive conceptual and semantic functions that act in response to the incoming information.<ref>Schacter DL. 1989. Memory. In Foundations
of Cognitive Science, ed. MI Posner, pp.
683–725. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press</ref>
In this manner, the various features of the experience must be joined together to form a coherent representation of the episode.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal|last1=Hemmer|first1=Pernille|last2=Steyvers|first2=Mark|date=2009|title=A Bayesian Account of Reconstructive Memory|journal=Topics in Cognitive Science|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|pages=189–202|doi=10.1111/j.1756-8765.2008.01010.x|pmid=25164805|issn=1756-8765}}</ref> If this binding process fails, it can result in [[memory error]]s. The complexity required for reconstructing some episodes is quite demanding and can result in incorrect or incomplete recall.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Torres-Trejo|first1=Frine|last2=Cansino|first2=Selene|date=2016-06-30|title=The Effects of the Amount of Information on Episodic Memory Binding|journal=Advances in Cognitive Psychology|volume=12|issue=2|pages=79–87|doi=10.5709/acp-0188-z|pmid=27512526|pmc=4975570|issn=1895-1171|doi-access=free}}</ref> This complexity leaves individuals susceptible to phenomena such as the [[misinformation effect]] across subsequent recollections.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kiat|first1=John E.|last2=Belli|first2=Robert F.|date=2017-05-01|title=An exploratory high-density EEG investigation of the misinformation effect: Attentional and recollective differences between true and false perceptual memories|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1074742717300606|journal=Neurobiology of Learning and Memory|language=en|volume=141|pages=199–208|doi=10.1016/j.nlm.2017.04.007|issn=1074-7427|pmid=28442391|s2cid=4421445|url-access=subscription}}</ref> By employing reconstructive processes, individuals supplement other aspects of available personal knowledge and schema into the gaps found in episodic memory in order to provide a fuller and more coherent version, albeit one that is often distorted.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Frisoni|first1=Matteo|last2=Di Ghionno|first2=Monica|last3=Guidotti|first3=Roberto|last4= Tosoni|first4=Annalisa|last5=Sestieri|first5=Carlo|date=2021|title=Reconstructive Nature of Temporal Memory for Movie Scenes|journal=Cognition|volume=208|pages=104557|doi=10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104557| issn=0010-0277 |pmid=33373938|s2cid=229539467|hdl=11585/964912|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
Many errors can occur when attempting to retrieve a specific episode. First, the retrieval cues used to initiate the search for a specific episode may be too similar to other experiential memories and the retrieval process may fail if the individual is unable to form a specific description of the unique characteristics of the given memory they would like to retrieve.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Burgess | first1 = PW | last2 = Shallice | first2 = T | year = 1996 | title = Confabulation and the control of recollection | journal = Memory | volume = 4 | issue = 4| pages = 359–411 | doi = 10.1080/096582196388906 | pmid = 8817460 }}</ref> When there is little available distinctive information for a given episode there will be more overlap across multiple episodes, leading the individual to recall only the general similarities common to these memories. Ultimately proper recall for a desired target memory fails due to the interference of non-target memories that are activated because of their similarity.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
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==== Jean Piaget's theory of schema ====
[[File: Jean Piaget in Ann Arbor.png|thumb|right|Jean Piaget influenced the study of reconstructive memory with his theory of schema.]]
[[Piaget's theory#Assimilation and accommodation|Piaget's theory]] proposed an alternative understanding of schema based on the two concepts: '''assimilation''' and '''accommodation'''. Piaget defined assimilation as the process of making sense of the novel and unfamiliar information by using previously learned information. To assimilate, Piaget defined a second cognitive process that served to integrate new information into memory by altering preexisting schematic networks to fit novel concepts, what he referred to as accommodation.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://internal.psychology.illinois.edu/~broberts/Block,+1982.pdf|author=Jack Block|title=Assimilation, Accommodation, and the Dynamics of Personality Development|year=1982|doi=10.2307/1128971|jstor=1128971|journal=Child Development|volume=53|pages=281–295|number=2}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> For Piaget, these two processes, accommodation, and assimilation, are mutually reliant on one another and are vital requirements for people to form basic conceptual networks around world knowledge and to add onto these structures by utilizing preexisting learning to understand new information, respectively.
According to Piaget, schematic knowledge organizes features information in such a way that more similar features are grouped so that when activated during recall the more strongly related aspects of memory will be more likely to activate together. An extension of this theory, Piaget proposed that the schematic frameworks that are more frequently activated will become more strongly consolidated and thus quicker and more efficient to activate later.<ref>Auger, W.F. & Rich, S.J. (2006.) Curriculum Theory and Methods: Perspectives on Learning and Teaching. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons.</ref>
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==== Frederic Bartlett's experiments ====
[[Frederic Bartlett]] originally tested his idea of the reconstructive nature of recall by presenting a group of participants with foreign folk tales (his most famous being "War of the Ghosts"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dlvalenc/PSY307/LINKS/GHOSTWAR.HTM|title="War of the Ghosts", March 5, 2012|access-date=March 6, 2012|archive-date=October 8, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011008213440/http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dlvalenc/PSY307/LINKS/GHOSTWAR.HTM|url-status=dead}}</ref>) with which they had no previous
James J. Gibson built off of the work that Bartlett originally laid down, suggesting that the degree of change found in a reproduction of an episodic memory depends on how that memory is later perceived.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Gibson | first1 = J.J. | year = 1929 | title = The Reproduction of Visually Perceived Forms | url = http://wexler.free.fr/library/files/gibson%20(1929)%20the%20reproduction%20of%20visually%20perceived%20forms.pdf | journal = Journal of Experimental Psychology | volume = 12 | issue = 1| pages = 1–39 | doi=10.1037/h0072470}}</ref> This concept was later tested by Carmichael, Hogan, and Walter (1932) who exposed a group of participants to a series of simple figures and provided different words to describe each images. For example, all participants were exposed to an image of two circles attached by a single line, where some of the participants were told it was a barbell and the rest were told it was a pair of reading glasses. The experiment revealed that when the participants were later tasked with replicating the images, they tended to add features to their own reproduction that more closely resembled the word they were [[Priming (psychology)|primed]] with.
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However, in a study by Clifford and Scott (1978), participants were shown either a film of a violent crime or a film of a non-violent crime. The participants who viewed the stressful film had difficulty remembering details about the event compared to the participants that watched the non-violent film.<ref name="simplypsych" /> In a study by Brigham et al. (2010), subjects who experienced an electrical shock were less accurate in facial recognition tests, suggesting that some details were not well remembered under stressful situations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brigham|first1=John C.|last2=Maass|first2=Anne|last3=Martinez|first3=David|last4=Whittenberger|first4=Gary|date=1983-09-01|title=The Effect of Arousal on Facial Recognition|journal=Basic and Applied Social Psychology|volume=4|issue=3|pages=279–293|doi=10.1207/s15324834basp0403_6|issn=0197-3533}}</ref> In fact, in the case of the phenomena known as [[weapon focus]], eyewitnesses to stressful crimes involving weapons may perform worse during suspect identification.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fawcett|first1=Jonathan M.|last2=Peace|first2=Kristine A.|last3=Greve|first3=Andrea|date=2016-09-01|title=Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun: What Do We Know About the Weapon Focus Effect?|journal=Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition|language=en|volume=5|issue=3|pages=257–263|doi=10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.07.005|issn=2211-3681|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Further studies on flashbulb memories seem to indicate that witnesses may recall vivid sensory content unrelated to the actual event but which enhance its perceived vividness.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Howes|first1=Mary|title=Chapter 9 - Memory and Emotion|date=2014-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124080874000098|work=Human Memory|pages=177–196|editor-last=Howes|editor-first=Mary|publisher=Academic Press|language=en|isbn=978-0-12-408087-4|access-date=2020-04-14|last2=O'Shea|first2=Geoffrey|editor2-last=O'Shea|editor2-first=Geoffrey|doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-408087-4.00009-8|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Due to this vividness, eyewitnesses may place higher confidence in their reconstructed memories.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Christianson|first=Sven-Åke|date=1992|title=Emotional stress and eyewitness memory: A critical review.|journal=Psychological Bulletin|volume=112|issue=2|pages=284–309|doi=10.1037/0033-2909.112.2.284|issn=1939-1455|pmid=1454896}}</ref>
====Application of schema====
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====Cross-race effect====
Reconstructing the face of another race requires the use of schemas that may not be as developed and refined as those of the same race.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Pezdek | first1 = K. | last2 = Blandon-Gitlin | first2 = I. | last3 = Moore | first3 = C. | year = 2003 | title = Children's Face Recognition Memory: More Evidence for the Cross-Race Effect | url = http://infantlab.fiu.edu/Articles/Pedzke%20et%20al%202003.pdf | journal = Journal of Applied Psychology | volume = 88 | issue = 4 | pages = 760–763 | doi = 10.1037/0021-9010.88.4.760 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.365.6517 | pmid = 12940414 | access-date = 2012-03-20 | archive-date = 2010-06-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100615001905/http://infantlab.fiu.edu/Articles/Pedzke%20et%20al%202003.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> The [[cross-race effect]] is the tendency that people have to distinguish among other of their race than of other races. Although the exact cause of the effect is unknown, two main theories are supported. The perceptual expertise hypothesis postulates that because most people are raised and are more likely to associate with others of the same race, they develop an expertise in identifying the faces of that race. The other main theory is the in-group advantage. It has been shown in the lab that people are better at discriminating the emotions of in-group members than those of out-groups.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Elfenbein | first1 = H. A. | last2 = Ambady | first2 = N. | year = 2003 | title = When familiarity breeds accuracy: Cultural exposure and facial emotion recognition | journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume = 85 | issue = 2| pages = 276–290 | doi=10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.276| pmid = 12916570 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.200.1256 | s2cid = 16511650 }}</ref>
====Leading questions====
Often during eyewitness testimonies, the witness is interrogated about their particular view of an incident and often the interrogator will use [[leading question]]s to direct and control the type of response that is elicited by the witness.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Loftus | first1 = E.F. | year = 1975 | title = Leading Questions and the Eyewitness Report | url = http://www.someya-net.com/01-Tsuyaku/Reading/Loftus75.pdf | journal = Cognitive Psychology | volume = 7 | issue = 4 | pages = 560–572 | doi = 10.1016/0010-0285(75)90023-7 | s2cid = 16731808 | access-date = 2012-03-22 | archive-date = 2020-06-19 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200619230254/http://www.someya-net.com/01-Tsuyaku/Reading/Loftus75.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> This phenomenon occurs when the response a person gives can be persuaded by the way a question is worded. For example, a person could be posed a question in two different forms:
* "What was the approximate height of the robber?" which would lead the respondent to estimate the height according to their original perceptions. They could alternatively be asked:
* "How short was the robber?" which would persuade the respondent to recall that the robber was actually shorter than they had originally perceived.
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===Retrieval cues===
After the information is encoded and stored in our memory, specific cues are often needed to retrieve these memories. These are known as retrieval cues<ref>{{
====Cue-dependent forgetting====
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====Priming====
Priming refers to an increased sensitivity to certain stimuli due to prior experience.<ref>{{cite APA Dictionary |title=Priming |shortlink=priming |access-date=2020-04-14 }}</ref> Priming is believed to occur outside of conscious awareness, which makes it different from memory that relies on the direct retrieval of information.<ref>Cherry, K. (2009, March 26). Priming - What Is Priming. Psychology - Complete Guide to Psychology for Students, Educators & Enthusiasts.</ref> Priming can influence reconstructive memory because it can interfere with retrieval cues. Psychologist [[Elizabeth Loftus]] presented many papers concerning the effects of proactive interference on the recall of eyewitness events. Interference involving priming was established in her classic [[Reconstruction of automobile destruction|study]] with John Palmer in 1974.<ref>{{cite journal | url = https://webfiles.uci.edu/eloftus/LoftusPalmer74.pdf | last = Loftus | first = EF | author2 = Palmer JC
* Group A contained 50 participants that were asked: "About how fast were the cars going when they '''hit''' each other?”
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