McKenzie Massey
CFS 210
According to this video, memory is not like a recording in the adult mind. Memory is incredibly
subjective to change, and reform based on factors such as suggestive language, trauma
response, misinformation and time removed from experience. This is referred to as false
memories. I intend to relate this to children and their tendencies concerning false memories.
The researcher points to a study she conducted, where she gave the adult participants a
scenario of being lost in a shopping mall and ultimately being saved by an older woman. She
reports 25% of the subjects believed this was a part of their personal history after research.
These types of false memories implementations have been retested all over the world. Due to
“wild imagination” implantation results, I believe children are more susceptible to false
memories for several reasons. Firstly, according to the book, children play. There are several
different types of play most of which, with the exception on the onlooker form, involve lots of
imagination. Not only that but, adult don’t play, meaning they are less inclined to use
imagination because they have developed and primarily use logic. However, children use their
imagination all day long because they are playing. the fact that children’s days revolve around
play and the use of imagination, this leads me to believe that children are more susceptible to
false memories because the imagination scenarios can fog the accurate memories of events.
another reason that false memories may be more prominent in children is abuse and neglect.
Unfortunately, children are the most likely to be in abusive and neglectful situations because
they do not have the ability to leave, nor the cognitive functioning to fully understand or
process the situation. Abuse causes trauma and trauma influences a young incredibly plastic
brain. There are several ways in which trauma can change the pathways of emotional
processing such as skewed details, blacking out details, and so much more. Overall children are
more inclined to experience false memories after abuse and neglect because your brain has this
amazing ability to protect itself as much as it can and that can come in the form of false
memories. If I were to interview a child, I would first have them tell me their side of the story,
so I had no impact on their memory. I would then ask them to draw pictures of the story for me
in case there was anything else they forgot and lastly, I would ask them yes/no questions about
the details of their story to ensure I understood it correctly.