History of Psychology On Line Resources

History and the Nature of Remembering

In what ways might it be correct to say that, because of the nature of our memory processes, history is always about our present day understandings, priorities and sense of self? What are the implications of this for our understanding of history? For our understanding of our own personal past?

Look at the work of:

• Sir Frederic Bartlett (1886-1969)
  The BBC did a program on both Bartlett and Loftus
  Here is a synopsis of Bartlett's study (and others)
  The following is Bartlett's memory study, establishing the schema theory of memory.
  Bartlett, F. C. ([1932], 1967): Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  
• Elizabeth Loftus (current)
  Go to Elizabeth Loftus' website, and read one or more of the articles there.