Relevant research studies

The topic, Reliability of Cognitive Processes, focuses on two areas of content: reconstructive memory and biases in thinking and decision-making. The IB Psychology Guide advises you to study one example of reconstructive memory and one of cognitive bias.

As you are aware, human memory is not an exact copy of events but rather a reconstruction that may be altered over time. Research shows that memory may be changed during storage, processing and retrieval of information. You could use several relevant studies to illustrate your writing about reconstructive memory. Bartlett (1932) showed how schemas could change how we recall stories and his pioneering studies were supported by Loftus and Palmer (1974), who investigated eyewitness testimony. The study by Yuille & Cutshall (1986) offers an alternative approach as the investigators found that leading questions do not overly influence the eyewitnesses.

While our species name, homo sapiens, implies we are “wise”, we are not always rational thinkers. Research shows that we are subject to biases in thinking and decision-making. Two biases that you could write about include confirmation bias and illusory correlations.

Confirmation bias is defined as the tendency to seek out information to confirm what you already believe. We unintentionally look for material that supports our opinions and tend to overlook evidence that does not support our viewpoint. When we consider evidence, we tend to interpret it to support our views. Our memories are also affected as we tend to recall information that reinforces our beliefs selectively. Hill et al. (2008) is an excellent study to write about.

Hamilton & Rose (1980) investigated illusory correlations in the maintenance of social stereotypes in three investigations. Their research is described in the Pamoja Student Guide to IB Psychology.