constructed nature of memory
-memory is constructed= dependent on what actually happens , as well as knowledge, experience, expectations, etc.
-we can ‘fill in the blanks
-can be maladaptive as it can lead to incorrect judgements about memories
fluency
ease or speed with which information is accessed from memory.
familiarity and fluency
can be 2 potentially misleading sources of info. ex. choosing an answer on a test because its familiar, even though you can’t actually remember that concept
Bartlett’s war of Ghosts experiment
had participants attempt to remember a story from a different culture and engage in repeated production .
reproductions eventually became shorter and contained inaccuracies.
changes unintentionally introduced into the story consistent with culture of storyteller
repeated production
participants repeatedly retrieve the same memory over time.
source memory
process of determining origins of our memories
source monitoring error
misidentifying source of memory (aka source misattributions)
cryptoamnesia
unconscious plagiarism of anothers work due to lack of reconition of its original source
‘becoming famous over night’ study
source monitoring errors evident
- participants shown a list of non-famous names in a study list , w the goal of later identifying famous names in a new list
-immediate group were asked to find all the famous names in a new list
-delay group had to due the same 24h later
-immediate group was more accurate, delay group misidentified more non-famous names as famous
- interpreted as occurring because some non-famous names had become more familiar to delay group
pragmatic inferences
is the process of drawing conclusions based on prior knowledge and context, and it significantly affects memory by leading people to remember what they inferred rather than what happened
schema
a mental framework or cognitive structure that organizes and interprets information about the world based on prior knowledge and experiences.
script
a mental framework or sequence of expected behaviors and actions for a specific situation, developed from past experiences.
Lindsey (1990) -source monitoring errors in narration
participants viewed slides of crime narrated by a female and then assigned to 2 groups.
1. difficult group: heard same female voice now provide a second narration of same story w some details changed, then tested 2 days later
2. easy group: waited 2 days , then heard male voice provide second narration of same story w some details changed, then tested immediately
-difficult group made more source monitoring errors (attributable to difference in timing and distinctiveness in voice reading of 2nd narration)
misinformation effect
misleading information presented after a memory is formed can change how that memory is remembered later
Loftus and Palmer (misinformation effect)
showed participants vid of car accident. asked participants to estimate speed of cars at point of impact, but manipulated verb used to describe the impact.
-verb used affected responses (i.e., manipulation occurred after)
false memories
an apparent recollection of an event that did not actually occur
Hymen (1995)- false memories
participants parents gave descriptions of real childhood experiences , which researcher brough up in an initial interview. during same interview, researchers also asked about some new event that never happened. most participants typically denied remembering.
in follow up interview , many participants reported now ‘remembering’ the fabricated event. (i.e., false memory had been created)
eyewitness testimony
can be very convincing, in part because people tend to assume we see and remember things accurately. the constructed nature of memory means our memories are often misleading, incomplete, or wrong.
errors associated with perception and attention
errors can occur due to attention and arousal.
can be related to attention being narrowed by specific stimuli, which effects what is encoded
Stanny and Johnson (2000)
demonstrated better memory for details about a weapon from a robbery video, which appear to come at the expense of details for other aspects of the scene. This effect is magnified if the stimuli becomes even more threatening
misidentifications due to familiarity
errors can also occur as a result of feelings of familiarity
Ross et al. (1994)- familiarity errors
showed participants one of 2 films:
-experimental group watched a video w a male teacher.
-control group watched a video w a female teacher
-this was followed up w watching a video of a female teacher being robbed by a male
- participants had to identify robber from a lineup
-when lineup included male teacher from 1st vid (and not the robber), experimental group 3x more likely to identify him
post-identification feedback effect
phenomenon where feedback given to an eyewitness, suggesting whether their identification was correct or mistaken, can distort their confidence and memory.
Liu et al. (2012) - implanting fear memories
used optogenetic reactivation of hippocampal neurons to activate fear based memory. delivered shocks to establish fear based memory, located neurons associated w that memory in the hippocampus .
genetically engineered those cells to respond to pulses of light (essentially allowing them to be turned on/off)
