Enhancing Reflection with Audiovisual Playback and Trained Inquirer

Much of the literature on reflection treats the role of memory as unproblematic, overlooking the potential for forgetting and memory distortion to interfere with learning and personal development. This paper discusses the reliability of human memory under conditions that often apply when people are encouraged to learn by reflecting on experience, then describes a process which uses audiovisual playback and a trained inquirer to help reduce memory distortion. Applications of the process to some often‐cited models of reflection are discussed along with some practical implementation issues. It is argued that the process increases the reliability of memory and allows a fullness of time to explore events and their effects in depth and detail. It appears particularly suited to exploring ambiguous interpersonal interactions and to the development of intrapersonal insight.