Reasons why we remember so much and so little at the same time...

Why do memory errors happen?
- Semantic activation
- Inferences
- Schemas
- Update of memory
Memory errors & everyday life
- In the court
- In therapy
- In important events of your life

•
• Example:
– You will hear a list of words, once the list ends, recall as many words as possible
– Bed, Rest, Awake, Snooze, Tired, Dream, Blanket, Doze, Slumber, Snore,
Nap, Yawn, Drowsy
– Missing word: ‘sleep’

with the hammer
• John was trying to fix the bird house. He was pounding the nail when his father came out to watch him and to help him do the work.
with the hammer
• John was trying to fix the bird house. He was looking for the nail when his father came out to watch him and to help him do the work.
Recognition test: “
John was using the hammer to fix the bird house when his father came out to watch him and to help him do the work.”

Schema (script):
A high-level representation of knowledge about familiar situations.
Schemata help us to deal with the world efficiently by representing those aspects of our experience that are usually the same from one time to another…

• Enter
– Walk into restaurant
– Look for table
– Decide where to sit
– Go to table
– Sit down
• Order
– Get menu
– Choose food
– Waiter arrives
– Give orders to waiter
– Wait, talk
– Cook prepares food
• Eat
– Cook gives food to waiter
– Waiter delivers food
– Eat
– Talk
• Leave
– Waiter delivers bill
– Examine bill
– Calculate tip
– Leave tip
– Get belongings
– Pay bill
– Leave restaurant

• See event: film of two-car accident
• Receive misinformation
– When the cars smashed each other,
– When the cars hit each other,
• Memory test: the speed was …
– a) “smashed”
– b) “hit”
(41 mph)
(34 mph)
(Elizabeth Loftus)
Is this a ‘memory’ distortion, or a report bias
?
A week later: Did you see broken glass? (correct answer: no) a) “smashed”: 32% yes b) ‘hit’: 14% yes
(Loftus & Palmer, 1974)

• most obvious case
– crime --> study
– picture of suspect --> misinformation
– Lineup --> test
• Eyewitness may recognize suspect from police display, not from crime scene.
• Conclusions:
– Do not let potential witnesses see suspects.
– Interrogate without asking leading questions
(Capturing the Freedmans)
• Further sources of error:
– newspaper stories, etc.

Memory Contamination & Psychotherapy
•Therapist repeatedly asks child about abuse at day care center. Eventually, child “remembers” abuse.
•Therapist repeatedly asks woman about childhood abuse.
Eventually, woman “recovers repressed memory” of abuse.
Are these repressed memories or false memories?
Big debate! (Loftus vs. Freyd)

• A type of episodic memory
• Memory for personal experiences
• Components
• Imagery (e.g., visual imagery)
• Lots of detail
(flashbulb memory: where were you on 9/11?)
• High confidence in its accuracy (even if it is wrong!)
• Emotion
• It has a narrative (it tells a story), thus
• It is constructive
– is biased by goals at the time of retrieval

• memory illusion - a false but convincing memory (false memory task, 1 st day of class)
• Memory is reconstructive - we extract the gist to make things easier to remember (but this may contribute to memory errors)

• Young children are especially vulnerable to suggestions to recall events that did not occur
– May cling to false memory, even when assured it did not occur
– Repeated questioning may elicit misinformation
– Especially affected by schemas
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

• Flashbulb memories - very vivid, able to be recalled in detail
– But subject to change over time, just like other memories
• Study of Challenger explosion
• Source monitoring - ability to identify the origins of a memory
–
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

• Implanted memories
– Lost in the mall study
– Easier to implant memory for
• Plausible events
• Events in the distant past
– Existence proofs for implanted memories
• Hot air balloon ride
• Bugs Bunny at Disneyland
– Demand characteristics? Not likely, many subjects continue to insist on the validity of false memories even when told they are implanted
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

• Weak correlation between witness confidence in their testimony and its accuracy
– Less accurate when
• Observing others of different race
• Witness has talked to other witnesses
• The observed situation is stressful (e.g., threatening, weapon involved)
– Improved accuracy with sequential (vs. simultaneous) lineup
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

1. Suggestibility
2. Misattribution
3. Bias
4. Transience
5. Persistence
6. Blocking
7. Absentmindedness
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009