Memory C8 objectives
What is the definition of memory? Make reference to my explanation in lecture.
Memory is the ability to talk about events that have happened in the past. The lecture explained that if
we can’t talk about it then it isn’t really a memory.
Why do we say memory is reconstructive? Give an example of source misattribution.
We say that memory is reconstructive because we usually change complex information in ways that
help us make sense of the material. Source misattribution is the inability to distinguish an actual
memory of an event from information you learned elsewhere about the event. An example would be
thinking you remembered certain details about a party you attended as a small child, when you actually
know these details from seeing photographs of the party.
What is confabulation? Give an example.
Confabulation is the formulation of false memories. It occurs if there is some detailed, emotional story
you have heard repeatedly in your childhood. Even if the story did not happen to you, you attribute this
to your own memory as though you know of the story through personal experience. If as a child you
hear a story over again about a fire destroying a neighbor’s house, after time you may start to
remember it as something that actually happened to you.
Why is eyewitness testimony often unreliable?
Eyewitness testimony is often unreliable because of the reconstructive nature of memory, ethic
unfamiliarity and prejudice, emotional state and how questions are posed.
What techniques have been proven to help us remember more effectively, and to retain
information more accurately for a longer time? (In reference to lecture)
method or by priming.
What did we say about how Autobiographical memories effect our memories as a whole?
The stories we tell (the way we talk about events in our lives) influence the way we think and feel
about those events.