Memory and Amnesia

K.C.'s Mental Make-up:
- Utter inability to remember any events, circumstances, or situations from his own life.
- Total episodic amnesia from birth to the present.
- Exception: can remember experiences from the last minute or two (Tulving, 2002, p. 14).

Definition: Loss of long-term memory due to disease, physical trauma, or psychological trauma.
Notable Case: K.C. studied by Endel Tulving (2002) who suffered severe amnesia after a motorcycle accident.

Definition: Inability to form new memories after the trauma, while retaining memories prior to the injury.
Causes: Commonly related to brain trauma (e.g., blow to the head).
Brain Structures Involved: Hippocampus usually affected; results in the inability to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory, preventing consolidation.
Memory Formation: New procedural memories can still be formed, but new episodic or semantic memories cannot (Bayley & Squire, 2002).
Example: H. M., who repeatedly read the same magazine without remembering it.

Definition: Loss of memories for events prior to the trauma; cannot remember past events.
Example: A person waking up in a hospital post-accident, unable to recognize family.
Real-Life Case: Scott Bolzan, who lost 46 years of memories after a head injury.

Definition: The process of forming and retrieving memories can lead to alterations and inaccuracies.
Flexible Nature of Memories: During retrieval, memories can be influenced by new events and modified.

Definition: The effect of misinformation from external sources leading to the creation of false memories.
Case Study: During the sniper attacks in Washington D.C. in 2002, eyewitness reports of a white van misled the investigation, as the suspects were using a blue sedan.

Impact: Faulty eyewitness testimony can lead to wrongful convictions. (Figure 8.11)
Case Study: Jennifer Thompson, who misidentified Ronald Cotton as her rapist, illustrating leading cues from police can reinforce false memories.

Research by Elizabeth Loftus:
- Eyewitness memories are flexible.
- Experiment (Loftus & Palmer, 1974): Different verbs in questions about car accidents altered speed estimates and recollection of details (e.g., "smashed" vs. "contacted").
- Memory inaccuracies can be increased by suggestion and leading questions.

Definition: Recall of autobiographical memories that are false or distorted.
Repressed Memories Debate: Some researchers argue that traumatic memories can be repressed and later recalled through therapeutic methods, while others, including Loftus, contest the accuracy of these recalled memories.

Changes in questioning practices to minimize suggestibility have been suggested, including using neutral language and blind photo lineups.

Forgetting: Loss of information from long-term memory.
Encoding Failure: Not storing information correctly; for instance, details about everyday objects (like a penny).

Definition: Decrease in memory accessibility over time.
Forgetting Curve: Ebbinghaus’ findings demonstrate loss of 50% of memorized information after 20 minutes, and 70% after 24 hours (Ebbinghaus, 1885/1964).

Definition: Memory errors caused by lapses in attention.
Example: Forgetting where you put your phone.
Blocking: Difficulty accessing stored information may occur, known as the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.

Misattribution: Confusion about the source of a memory (e.g., recalling a dream as a real memory).
Suggestibility: False memories arise from external information.
Bias: Memories are distorted by our beliefs and views of the world.
Persistence: Involuntary recall of unwanted memories, especially traumatic ones.
Proactive Interference: Old information hinders recall of new information.
Retroactive Interference: New information inhibits recall of old information.

Memory is complex and inherently flawed due to processes like construction, suggestibility, and interference, impacting eyewitness reliability and personal recollections of events.