repeated reproduction

a method for studying memory in which participants repeatedly retrieve the same memory over time. The method often shows that repeated retrieval leads to changes in memory, supporting the theory that memory should be viewed as constructive and reconstructive (see constructive memory; reconstructive memory), rather than simply reproductive. In the original 1932 study, British college students attempted to recall a particular Native American folk tale. Successive reproductions of the tale demonstrated that the students’ own cultural knowledge and expectations intruded into the recall, rationalizing and eliminating unusual elements and structuring unrelated items of the tale into a more coherent and familiar framework. Also called Bartlett technique; Bartlett tradition; successive reproduction. See also effort after meaning; serial reproduction. [developed in 1932 by Frederic C. Bartlett]

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

afterdischarge

n. continued production of nerve impulses after the stimulus that caused the activity has been removed.