Psy 200 1st Edition Lecture 12 Current Lecture Remembering Complex Events False Memory-Can occur because of overlap of related concepts in memory network-Can occur because of situational expectations (schema)-Can occur because of information added after the event- misinformationLoftus’ Misinformation Effect -The way questions are worded can impact the answer given. It can lead to a specific answer-Loftus’ conclusion- -misinformation creates false memory -fast reaction time is not a good predictor of accuracyCommon (but not universal) result:-Misleading info doesn’t hurt performance hereConclusions: -False memory doesn’t supplement original memory-False memory is stronger than original memoryWhy? Because it is more recentMemory Implantation-Creating a memory for someone that never actually occurred-In one study, 58% of preschoolers produced false narratives to one or more of the fictitious events with 25% of the children doing so to the majorityChildren Suggestibility (Ceci and Huffman 1997)-3-4 year olds are more vulnerable than 5-6 years olds-Some children resist debriefing, argue that the events actually occurred-“Experts” unable to distinguish accurate from inaccurate reports-Hippocampus shows some level of activity for both true and false memoriesImagination Inflation-Imagining an event that never happened can result in memory implantation-Imagining an event results in more false memories than simply reading about it -More likely when imagined event share perceptual or conceptual features with a real eventThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.“Recovered Memories”-Therapists repeatedly question a child about abuse at a day care center. Eventually the child “remembers” the abuse-Therapists repeatedly ask a woman to search memory for recollections of childhood abuse. Finally she “recovers repressed memories” which seem real to herIndividual Differences in False Memory-Those with false memories may be more susceptible to any kind of false memories-Others may be more prone to remembering things only in a certain context- they might be less likely to have false memories-Those who never forgot about abuse had normal rates of false memory and context effects-Those who forgot abuse and “recovered” it in therapy had higher false memory rates-Those who forgot abuse and recovered it on their own had higher effects of contextWhy is our memory so bad?-The same systems that distort memory also make memory flexible, which is good-Memories can be updated with new information. Whether it is good or bad depends on whether the information is true or false-Making associations can provide structure to strengthen memory at the cost of false memory for items that are closely related-Imagining events helps us stimulate what might happen at the cost of false memory for that