Memory Errors

Memory

• Created by a construction process based on what happened, general knowledge of how things usually happen, and other things that have happened, experiences, and expectations

Reminiscence Bump

When participants over age 40 were asked to recall events in their lives, memory is high for recent events that occurred in adolescence and early adulthood (between 10 and 30 years)

Reminiscence Bump Self-Image Hypothesis

• Memory is enhanced for events that occur as a person’s self-image/life identity is being formed

• People assume identities in adolescence and young adulthood (I am statements)

Reminiscence Bump Cognitive Hypothesis

• Periods of rapid change are followed by stability cause stronger consolidation of memories

Reminiscence Bump Cultural Life Script Hypothesis

• Each person has a personal life story and understanding of culturally expected events

• Many culturally expected events (getting a degree, getting married) occur in the reminiscence bump

LaBar and Phelps Experiment on Exceptional Stimuli

• Participants recall arousing words (profanity, sexually explicit words) much better than neutral words

Amygdala and Exceptional Stimuli

• Amygdala is not directly linked with memory, but signals important emotional stimuli

Source Memory

Process of determining origins of our memories

Source Misattribution

Misidentifying source of memory

• Famous overnight experiment: participants’ ability to distinguish between famous and nonfamous names

  • After 24 hours, some nonfamous names were misidentified as famous

    • Nonfamous names were familiar, and participants misattributed the source of familiarity

Schema

Knowledge about some aspect of the environment

Scipt

Conception of sequence of actions that usually occurs during a particular experience

• Can affect memory construction

Misinformation effect

Misleading info presented after someone witnesses an event can change how that person later describes the event

• Loftus and Palmer: introduced misleading post event info about a car accident (different signs, different descriptions), which altered how the participants described the event

  • People who were told the car smashed into the other car reported a higher speed collision, and broken glass being on the scene when there was not