memory distortion

misattribution (memory distortion)

attribution a memory to the wrong source

suggestibility (memory distortions)

changes to memory based on extra information

bias (memory distortions)

changes to memory based on your current knowledge and beliefs

exampels of misattribution - misattributing to the wrong source

case #1: individuals recall learning a trivia fact in a newspaper, but they actually learned it from an experimenter

case#2: people sometimes think an idea is a spontaneous thought…But it’s actually something they heard earlier (songwriting plagiarism)

case#3: people sometimes falsely recall or recognize events that never happened.

suggestibility

memories that are implanted as a result of leading questions or other new information presented during attempmts to recall past experiences

framing effect

how questions are framed and even full on misinformation n questions distorts memory

smashed vs. hit

smashed = participants estimated 40.8MP

hit = participants estimated 34.0

misinformation effect:

• watch a video of a white catr driving along road asked how fast it was going when it passed the barn while on the country road

• how fast was the white car going while on the country road

how questions are framed, and even full-on misinformation in questions, distorts memory (bugs bunny example)

misinformation paradigm:

• misinformation can even impact our personal, autobiographical memories

• particiapnts read and answered questions about fake Disneyland ads featuring Bugs bunny and descriibing how they met and shook hands qwith him

• When tested later, 15-30% of people recalled they had personally met Bugs Bunny when they visited Disneyland.

recap on consoldiation

• when a memory is “reactivated” it enters a labile state and is then re-consolidated again

• different pieces of info (actual video vs questions asked by experimenter) can be consolidated together as part of the same episode

bias

distortion of memory and unconscious influences on memory based on your current knowledge and beliefs.

our ___ are also an important biasing factor in memory

self-beliefs

consistency bias

people think their CURRENT attitudes are more consistent with their PAST attitudes than they actually were

consistency bias example

romantic relationships 

• people who were dating were asked to rate themselves and their partner, 2 months later, they rated each other again. 

• if the relationship got worseo ver time, then they remembered their ratings at time point #1 as more negative than they actually were 

distortions as features of an adaptive system

just like forgetting, memory distortions arise because of an overall ADAPTIVE memory system

even tho the consequences of memory distortion can be bad, they reflect features of memory that are overall helpful to our functioning and survival

• source information is often irrelevant

• extracting “gist” is important — we need to integrate our experiences together over time

false confessions =

suggestibility

eyewitness misidentification=

misattribution AND suggestibility

repeated testing example