Reconstructive Memory: The Loftus world (psy 301- Memory Lecture)

Memory and Recall

• Initial Word Lists

  • First list of words:

    • Bed, rest, awake, tired, dream, wake, snooze, blanket, doze, slumber, nap, drowsy.

  • Second list of words:

    • Candy, sour, sugar, dessert, salty, taste, flavor, bitter, cookies, cherry, chocolate, yummy.

• Counting Backwards

  • First sequence: Start from 118, count backwards by threes:

    • 115, 112, 109, 106.

  • Second sequence: Start from 118, count backwards by sevens:

    • 111, 104, 97, 90.

Memory Recall Activity

• Participants were asked to recall words from both lists.

  • Survey Deployment

    • Participants wrote down words they could remember from each list.

• Observation of Results

  • First list recall:

    • Commonly remembered words: bed, rest, awake.

  • Interestingly, the word "sleep" was reported by 55% of participants despite not being included in the list.

Concept of Spreading Activation

• Explanation of how related concepts activate memory:

  • Words like "bed" relate to concepts of sleep, furniture, comfort, etc.

  • The concept of sleep is activated by the presence of related words, leading to false memories (e.g., sleep).

  • The more a concept is activated, the stronger the false memory becomes, affecting recall.

• Second List Observations

  • Sweet was recalled by 61% of the participants, despite it not being in the list at all.

Implications of False Memories

• Discussion on the impact of memory errors:

  • Importance in contexts like eyewitness testimony where accuracy is crucial.

  • Variation in question phrasing can influence memory perception.

Survey of Car Incident Video

• Participants responded to surveys about a video incident:

  • Variations in questioning:

    • "How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?" vs. "smashed into each other?"

  • Results indicated that people remembered seeing broken glass more frequently when using the word "smashed."

Retroactive Interference

• Elizabeth Loftus's Research:

  • Concept defined: Memory can be altered by information encountered after an event.

  • Question phrasing example shows how it can alter perceived memories of an event.

Background Object Recall

• Participants questioned about objects seen in the background of the incident video.

  • 23% reported seeing a giraffe, which was not present in the video.

  • The instance demonstrates the creation of false memories through associative cues during recall sessions.

Conclusion

• Key Insight: Memory is impressionable and fallible, not merely a recording.

• Encouragement to reflect on how easily false memories can be created and their implications in significant real-life scenarios.