Chapter12 Reconstructive Processes in Memory(II)

by Luan Feng

Outline & Q?

1. Implanting MemoriesQ1: Techniques can lead people to recall events that did not

occur, so these types of memories are false memories. Do you agree with it?

2. Recovered MemoriesQ2: Does the term “Recovered Memories” have problem? If

so, please replace it by a better term and give your reason.

3. Memory IllusionsQ3:What’s the difference between memory illusions and

perceptual illusions?

1. Implanting Memories

Implanting Memories: a person “remembers” something that did not happen, memories can be created after an experimental manipulation. (Loftus, 1993b; Roediger&McDermott, 1995)

Experiment (by Rodiger and Mcdernott, 1995):

Memory for Words Not Presented

• thread• pin• eye• sewing• sharp• point• prick• thimble• haystack• thorn• hurt• injection• syringe• cloth• knitting

needle

Prodcedure&Result: Used lists of 12 words, all the words in list are related to needle, which dose not appear in the list. Many subjects would recall needle as one of the words in list.

Finding: People can be confident that information they recall is accurate despite the fact that the information is wrong. (Eeingardt, 1995)

Purpose: To demonstrate recall of words that were not present on the list.

5

Famous Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget had a memory of being kidnapped when he was an child and found out later that his nanny had made up the story.

Another Implanting Memory Story

Apparently, Jean had heard stories, and was attributing memory for these as memory for real events.

false memories ?false memories ?

A variety of techniques can lead people to recall events that did not occur. Unfortunately, these types of memories are often referred to as false memories.

This is a misleading term because it implies true versus false. In one sense, all memories are false, because they are constantly changing and are likely to include information from other sources other than original. To divide memory up as either true or false masks the fact that all memories are constructed and that the construction process draws on many types of information

What is important are the processes that lead to the dynamic memory system continuously changing, not the simpleminded assertion that a memory is true or false.

2. Recovered Memories

• Meaning: someone can fail to remember an event at one time and then successfully remember the event at another time.

• But: people can be easily led to recall events that did not occur and believe that these memories are of real events.

• Recovered Memories implies that the memory is of a real happened event.

• Discovered memories is neutral on whether the memory is of a real event or not - a better term.

The basic idea is that during the discovered memory experience, the person thinks about the event in a different way.

At the time of discovery, the person has the experience of currently remembering the event but also believing that he had not previously remembered the event.

“forgot it all along” effect(by Schooler et al., 1997)

• Phase 2, the words were embedded in two different sentences, such as, “He swatted the fly with the palm of his hand.” and “The fortune teller traced the lifeline on the palm of his hand.” subjects were asked to judge whether they remembered the word palm in Phase 1.

• Group B subjects might see “palm-hand”. This biases subjects to think of palm in the sense of part of the hand rather than as a type of tree.

• Group A subjects might see “palm-tree”. This biases subjects to think of palm in the sense of a type of tree rather than as a part of the hand .

• Phase 1, subjects remembered a particular item, subjects saw homographic target words paired with disambiguating context words.

Judged palm As Recalled

90%

60%The subjects in Group A were failing to remember that they had remembered the information at an earlier time because of thinking about “palm” in a different way at the time of discovery.

3. Memory Illusions

• There are hundreds of studies on perceptual illusions, but relatively few that deal with memory illusions.

• Perceptual Illusions

• Memory Illusions

• Which is longer? • Which is bigger?• Is this object possible? • Count the black dots plz.

Perceptual Illusion: both the objective and subjective versions can be continually experienced. With the memory illusion, only the subjective version remains.

wheel ?

sphere ?

When people see a moving picture through a small slit, they remember more of the object than was actually seen.

When people see a still picture, their memories include additional information that was not seen.

Memory Illusions(by McCloskey&Watkins, 1978)

• The important point to remember is that most memory illusions will go unnoticed because, unlike perceptual illusions, there is nothing objective to compare with your internal representation.

car ?

earth ?

13

Summary

1. Implanting Memories Recall events that did not occur.

2. Recovered Memories Become aware of a memory that was not aware of earlier.

3. Memory Illusions Internal representation

THE ENDTHANKS

Q1/A

• Q1: Techniques can lead people to recall events that did not occur, so these types of memories are false memories. Do you agree with it?

• A: This is a misleading term because it implies true versus false. Almost all memories are a combination of episodic details and information from generic memory or from other sources. Thus, at lest part of your memory for everything you have experienced is a false memory. To divide memory up as either true or false masks the fact that all memories are constructed and that the construction process draws on many types of information.

Q2/A

• Q2: Dose the term “recovered memories” have problem? If so, please replace it by a better term and give your reason.

• A: The term “recovered memories” is similarly problematical, as it implies such memories are genuine. A better term is “discovered memories”, where the discovery could be of an event that occurred or one that did not. For example, the phenomenon of discovered memories is real, in such cases a person becomes aware of a memory that he or she was not aware of earlier.

Q3/A

• Q3:What’s the difference between memory illusions and perceptual illusions?

• A: With a perceptual illusion, both the objective and subjective versions can be continually experienced. With a memory illusion, usually only the subjective version remains. Thus, memory illusions, though common, are very difficult to notice.