memory is a constructive and active process Essay

Memory is a checkmate that has been of much interest to psychologists for many years and discordant research has been carried give away in aid of arduous to understand how retrospect works. It understructure be silent that w arhousing is compromised of three processes and three key subsystems which change it to work and perform efficiently on a daily basis. The encoding process is where learning is retrieved via what is cognize as sensory remembering which is encoded any visually or semantically by attaching a subject matter to a word. In depots of storage of retention, the study in the sensory remembrance is either held in victimize bourne computer storage where it commode be reminiscenceed for a few minutes or retentive term memory board where it brush off be recalled for several(prenominal) decades. thus far a topic of much cope is whether memory is a constructive or peaceful process. Memory as an agile process can be explained as the design of memori es world alter, twisted or even constructed from external kickoffs whereas supine memory is where information is recalled exactly as it is encoded. A say has been made that memory is fighting(a) and constructive thus in order to evaluate this allege it is central to consider the relevant studies carried out in this nation of cognitive psychology. ( stir and Roth, 2007)When spirit at the processes involved in memory, it is clear that the circumstances play an important economic consumption in whether retrieval becomes an active or passive process. When information is unfamiliar or leading questions are asked about memories, this can reckon our recall and the memories can become distorted which implies a constructive boldness when recalling information. A number of studies examining dissevericular(prenominal) circumstances and their marrows on memory support this concept. Encoding follows a similar principle, where depending on the circumstances the information is either encoded passively or constructed with a mix of in the altogether information and information gillyflowerd in massive term memory in order to attach convey to the information. Storage on the other hand is generally passive as the information is recordedautomatically. It is to a fault important to take into account that thither is not just one type of memory only that it can be split into two several(predicate) categories, short term memory and vast term memory.(Brace and Roth, 2007)When looking at short term memory specifically, it becomes clear that there is a conscious and active aspect to the process therefore supporting the look at at least partially that memory is constructive. This is demonstrate in Baddley and Hitchs model of short term memory (as cited in Brace and Roth 2007) they postulate that the short term memory is comparable to a workbench concept where new information is involved with old memories and stored information in order to slaver out a va r. of processes depending on the specific circumstances. The main weakness with this theory or concept is the inability to visually see what is occuring in the understanding. Although we can look at PET scans and see relation back differences in the posterior Hippocampus when investigating the active part of memory as can be seen in Maguier et als playing field (as cited in Brace and Roth 2007) of taxi drivers where that specific section of the brain was enlarged. We are still unable to see the factual information creation encoded or stored however the venture and theories put forward support the concept of rough aspects of short term memory world constructive. contemptible onto the main memory processes, Bartletts The war of the ghosts take on (as cited in Brace and Roth 2007) is particularly relevant when evaluating the claim of memory existence an entirely constructive and active process. He chose a fiction specifically aimed to contain unfamiliar concepts to the parti cipants. This allowed him to examine the effects of social and personalized experiences on memory and recall. This study supports the concept of memory be constructive and dynamic because the evidence shows that instead of the story world encoded and stored in a manner that allowed the participants to recall it accurately and undistorted, the participants used previous experiences and concepts that made mavin to them in order to encode and retrieve the information.This contortion or transformation of the facts directly points to memory being active as during the processing of the story, it is likely that elaborative dry run played a part in the manner of encoding and storage as the participants were linking information to lively noesis in order to make sense datum of the story. However it is important to consider there was no control over any of the inconsistents in the study therefore the findings from the experiment would be difficult to footstep in terms of accuracy an d reliability in relation to the claim proposed.Further support for the claim comes from a study carried out by Loftus and Palmer (1974, as cited in Brace and Roth 2007) which was designed to look at the effect of leading questions and the influence of linguistics on our memory of events. This study further supports the concept of memory being constructive as the information is being distorted through the participants own experiences, this shows that the memories are not being recalled accurately but are being recalled in a manner that the participant is encounter past experiences and knowledge along with the study material.This feature with the suggestive reputation of the verbs used could likewise affect the retrieval of memories by misattributing the source resulting in the participants believe something that may not be entirely accurate, in this shimmy the speed of the cars and presence of glass in the video. Although when interpreting the findings, it is important to consi der the con ordering variable of individual differences I.e personal perception of speed which could effect the inclemency and generalisability of the data. The study also lacks ecological validity as witnessing the car crash via a media source would not machinate the same emotional reply as a witnessing it freshman hand, which could effect the lineament and detail of the information stored.In contrast, certain aspects of memory imply a passive aspect of memory as some types of memories are accurately stored and recalled with smaller or no distortion and rarely forgotten. In the Bahrick et al (1975, as cited in Brace and Roth 2007) study which looked at the recollection of faces and name of people from their graduating classes it was found that even after 35 years there was almost no forgetting and accurate recall of names and faces. This Study supports the aspect of memory being a passive process as the information encoded is being recalled accurately and over a long degree of time. These types of memories are classed as enduring memories and pocket-size or no loss or distortion occurs until genuinely old age where other factors couldbe responsible. However a weakness of the study was that it only time-tested names and faces which is a small representation of the types of knowledge stored in long term memory so would be difficult to apply the findings to all aspects of long term memory.Brown and Kulik (1977, as cited in Brace and Roth 2007) created the term flashbulb memories in relation to autobiographic memories and carried out an experiment to demonstrate this theory. This experiment pore on events that are surprising and provoke well emotional responses. This study further supports the notion of memory being passive as long as certain conditions are met. In this particular case the event has to be important to the individual and has to evoke a strong emotional response. As long as these conditions are met an individual is able to store and r ecall their memories of the event very accurately or at least the reception of the event i.e. who they were with and when they first found out etc.The emotional aspect of the event and the importance to the individual means the information can be recalled exactly as it was encoded with little or no distortion. However, it is important to consider that the rehearsal effect may play an important part in the storage of the memories due to the emotional nature of the event it is possible that these memories are replayed or rehearsed more(prenominal) often than other memories.After evaluating the evidence in relation to the claim that memory is constructive and active, victorious into account both the results and the inherent problems with the studies methodology the finishing has to be drawn that whilst some aspects of memory are indeed constructive there are also passive elements in all three processes of memory. The studies carried out on the retrieval process of memory sure show strong indication of memory being constructive and show that memories can be altered or distorted by a variety of factors meaning the information retrieved is subject to change. However looking at both the encoding and storage processes these make believe been shown to have both passive and constructive elements depending on the circumstances such as emotional responses and personal relevance. Therefore looking at memory as a single entity, it has to be seen as an fusion of both constructive and passive elements. (Brace and Roth,2007)References Brace, N and Roth, I (2007) Memory structures, processes and skills in D. Miell, A.Phoenix, & K.Thomas(Eds.) Mapping psychology, Milton Keynes, The Open University.