Sir Frederic Bartlett attributed the inaccurate memory constructions observed in his study "War of the Ghosts" to the processes of reconstruction in human memory. He proposed that memory is not a passive process of simply recalling information, but rather an active process where individuals reconstruct memories based on their existing knowledge, beliefs, and cultural background.
In his experiments, Bartlett found that participants altered details of the story, omitting unfamiliar elements and adding information that made more sense to them personally, reflecting their own experiences and cultural context. This led to distorted or inaccurate recall, highlighting the influence of prior knowledge and schemata on memory retention and retrieval. Overall, Bartlett emphasized the reconstructive nature of memory, suggesting that our cognitive frameworks significantly shape how we remember events.