False Memory - 2086 Words

False Memory and Your Imagination Diana Bunch PSY 511 False Memory and Your Imagination The power of suggestion or through a vivid imagination are just a couple ways that psychological research has shown ways in which false memories are created. A false memory is an untrue or distorted reminiscence of an event that did not actually happen. In reality, memory is very susceptible to error. People can feel completely assured that their memory is accurate, but this assurance is no guarantee that a specific memory is correct. Existing knowledge and other memories can affect the creation of a new memory, causing the memory of an event to be mistaken or entirely false. Memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus (1997) has demonstrated through her†¦show more content†¦The overall conclusion of this study indicate that the critical factor in determining the effect of divided attention on false memory is the manner in which memory is tested. This divided attention can affect adults and children through the false memory phenomena. Otgaar, Peters, and Howe (2012) conducted a study to examine the impact of divided attention on children’s and adults’ neutral and negative true and false memories in the DRM paradigm. They expected all participants to falsely recall more neutral false memories than negative ones. It was also predicted that divided attention would affect children’s and adults’ false memories differently; particularly that dividing attention should decrease children’s false memories. Participants included 78 seven year olds, 48 eleven year olds, and 52 young adults around the age of twenty-one. Results found that divided attention significantly affected children’s and adults’ false recall in opposite ways. Specifically, with children when attention was divided, false memories decreased whereas with adults, dividing attention increased false memory levels. From all the above stated research thus far, it can easily be suggested that false memories stemming in childhood are carried over into adulthood. Due to the nature of this, research has also been conducted in an attempt to reverse the effects. Holliday, Brainerd, and Reyna (2011) investigated the possibility that false memory could be subjected to theShow MoreRelatedFalse Memory Syndrome1478 Words   |  6 Pagesbelieve they may have happened; all three of these examples are forms of creating a false memory. Many psychologists have researched, evaluated, and experimented with false memory, which has lead to the discovery of False Memory Syndrome, a condition in which individuals contract false memories while almost always remaining oblivious to the act of creating a memory that is not factual or concrete (Berger 1). False memory syndrome develops as a result of many different internal and external forces suchRead MoreEssay False Memory1199 Words   |  5 PagesMemory is one of the most critical parts of cognition. It is important because it is involved in almost every aspect of cognition including problem solving, decision making, attention, and perception. Because of this importance, people rely on one’s memory to make important decisions. The value of one’s memory in this society is so high that it is used as evidence to either save one’s life or kill one’s life during murder trials. But as many of the cognitive psychologists know, human’s memory canRead MoreEssay On False Memory1409 Words   |  6 Pages False Memories are fundamentally, unintended human errors, which results in people having memories of events and situations that did not actually occur. It’s worth noting that in humans there are both true and false memories, these false memories occur when a mental experience is incorrectly taken to be a representation of a past event. For example, when people are asked to describe something that happened at a particular time, people rarely deliver accurate answers. Based on research, in eyewitnessRead MoreThe False Memories Of Photographs1488 Words   |  6 Pagesto document important life events in recent years. These photographs later become cues for individuals to recall their memories of what had happened during the time that the photo was taken. Since photographs usually capture real and memorable events, it would make sense to assume that the memories that photographs produce are going to be real and true memories. However, memories created by photos might not always be reliable. For example, if a group of individuals were presented with a fabricatedRead MoreWhat Is A False Memory?2142 Words   |  9 PagesCherry, K. (2016, March 19). What Is a False Memory? Retrieved April 30, 2016, from https:// www.verywell.com/what-is-a-false-memory-2795193 This webpage presents false memory at a glance. The webpage covers topics relating specifically to false memory, such as the definitions, causes, impacts, and who is affected. The author distinguishes false memory from other forms of memory fallibility. Also, the author indicates the various factors that influence false memory like misinformation, misattributionRead More False Memory Syndrome Essay1391 Words   |  6 PagesFalse Memory Syndrome How accurate and reliable is memory? Studies on memory have shown that we often construct our memories after the fact, that we are susceptible to suggestions from others that will help us fill in the gaps in our memories (Carroll 6). Prior to reading and discussing the issue of False Memory Syndrome, I hadn’t thought much about the topic. Maybe a person who had experienced this would be more educated. I did however find it very interesting to research and my beliefsRead MoreFalse Memory Essay1786 Words   |  8 PagesFalse memory, second to forgetting, is one of the two fundamental types of deformation in episodic memory (Holliday, Brainerd Reyna, 2010). Simply stated, false memory is the propensity to account normal occurrences as being a fraction of a key experience that in actuality was not an element of that experience (Holliday, Brainerd Reyna). False memories are something nearly everyone experience. Furthermore, false memory is defined as placed together, con structed representations of mental schemasRead MoreFalse Memory Essay1208 Words   |  5 Pagespopulation have claimed that they remember a memory that never actually happened, which can also be perceived as false memory. (HealthDay News, 2016). According to Time magazine, a false memory is when you have an apparent recollection of an event that actually never occurred. It might be easy to explain why we remember things, however psychologists are finding that it’s trickier when we claim we remember things but it simply never happened. False memories are something you want to get more knowledgeRead MoreWhat is False Memory Syndrome? Essay789 Words   |  4 Pages False memory syndrome is also called Recovered memory, Pseudo-Memory, and Memory Distortion. False memory syndrome or pseudo-memory is memories of an experience, in which one seemingly remembers that never actually or really occurred. In other words, false memory is a fabricated remembrance of past events that did n ot really happen. People often falsely thought of memories as recorder that are records accurately of all the experience in our brain but, memories are not always true and accurate andRead MoreFalse Memories Of Sexual Abuse2089 Words   |  9 PagesFalse memory is a term for the event of an individual remembering information or events they were not exposed to. Jerwen and Flores (2013) defined it as the creation of a memory about an event that an individual did not experience. They point out, â€Å"although not being able to remember something is a memory problem, ‘remembering’ something that did not happen can be as serious a problem.† The seriousness of this problem is exemplified in the cases of individuals creating false memories of sexual abuse