Accommodative reconstruction in prose recall

The hypothesis that the past is reconstructed to conform with current cognitive states was investigated. Predicted reconciling errors in recall of discourse appeared when subjects were likely to integrate the information in the discourse with prior knowledge and when subsequently presented informati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 1980-01, Vol.19 (1), p.84-95
Main Author: Spiro, Rand J.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The hypothesis that the past is reconstructed to conform with current cognitive states was investigated. Predicted reconciling errors in recall of discourse appeared when subjects were likely to integrate the information in the discourse with prior knowledge and when subsequently presented information was inconsistent with expectations formed earlier. Such errors increased with delay prior to recall. Confidence data indicated the predicted errors were not gap-filling guesses. Recall errors were almost totally absent when cognitive states at recall were consistent with earlier states and when conventional memory instructions were employed. The results were interpreted as support for an “accommodative reconstruction” hypothesis.
ISSN:0022-5371
0749-596X
DOI:10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90548-4