What are constructive processes in memory? Explain.

What will be an ideal response?

Constructive processes are processes in which memories are influenced by the meaning we give to events. When we retrieve information, then, the memory that is produced is affected not just by the direct prior experience we have had with the stimulus, but also by our guesses and inferences about its meaning.

The notion that memory is based on constructive processes was first put forward by Frederic Bartlett, a British psychologist. He suggested that people tend to remember information in terms of schemas, organized bodies of information stored in memory that bias the way new information is interpreted, stored, and recalled. Because we use schemas to organize information, our memories often consist of a reconstruction of previous experience.

Consequently, our schemas are based not only on the actual material to which people are exposed, but also on their understanding of the situation, their expectations about the situation, and their awareness of the motivations underlying the behavior of others.