chapter 7+8 Flashcards
7.16, 8.4, 8.6,
The constructive Character of Memory
our memories can be infleunced by info [presented after an event
this is how our memory is supposedt to work - being updated with new info
this can create accurate mmeories or false memories in which there is retreival of an event that never occured
misinformation effect - car infront of stop sign showed, then gieven descriptions with misinformation like tehre was a yiled sighn, those exposed to the misinformation reproted the yield sign more and those who vividly imagined the msileading info were even more likley to integrate the misinformation into their orignial memory
theres a boost in confidence associated ith imgaining the misleading info reffered to as imagination inflation
this inc confidence that an event took place has been demonstrayed even ppl imagien an event from childhood
imagining nonexistnet actions or events can create new false memories
ppl can be made to rmbr an entirelyfictional event as actually having occured
ex. in a study particpants told three true events abt chuldhood and one lie - the partcipants recalled the details of the veents immedatly and evenrecalled the false event a week later
even complete memroies of cimmiting a crime can be falsely generated
some reflect false belifes where ppl accept that the veent occured without rmbring it but some even falsely rmbr the event suggesting that repeated interrogations may cause a person to quetsion their innocence
misinformation effect can be pwoerful resulting in false memories of seeing news footage of an event where no footage actually existed
partcpants who falsely rmbred seeing footage may have no longer had accurate access to the source of info abt the crash (reading article rather than have seen it in their minds eye)
source memory is the ability to recall the context in which we acquired a memory
some false meories can reflect source amnesia which occurs when we cant rmbr where the meories came from even though we rmbr the event
when we forget the sourve of our facts this is an error of source montoring
when we forget whetehr we expeirencd or imagined an event its a source of reality montiring erorr (ex. dream)
were suceptible to memory distortions even when stakes are high
eyewitness misidenfications have been a big reason fro wrongful convictions
the DeeseRoedigerMcdermott false memory paradigm has also been used to induce false meoris in the lab
partcopants are read a list of words and asked to recall as many as they can
they will often recall relatefd words they were neevr presented by the epxeirmenter
false memories depend on recollected gist memory, the general global aspects of the supposed event, rather than the verbatim memory, the specific detials
gist-based memories are highly durable, so false meories sometimes outlast rela memories
in other words we cant judge a meories fathfulness to reality by its persistence in our minds
these false memories can seem subjectvly simialr to real events bc the brain treats them the same
false meories depen of the same brain strcutures that are critcial for making true memroies
research shows that we can counter misinformation and false memory if we probe our memory in the form of a questuin, like a self-test, rather thna a statement
like asking did u see the stop sign versus there was a stop sigfn can allow accurate recall
testing your mmeory is an excellent opportunty to strengthen it
research also shows that training partucipants on the flexbility of their own meories can actually reduce the misinfiormation effect
Of Two Minds: Forming Judgements and Making Decisions
as we naviagte evrryday life, we use our thinking capcbilities to make many jdugements or conclsuions drawn form evdience we have at hand
judgements often lead to decisions or choices that affect our behaviour such as whetehr to contact a potential date
making judgeemnts and deciosns can be much more difficult than apps make it appear
ex. u wanna make a rational decisons abt selecting a partner; that is a decison that is purely based on reason and logic - might make a criterai, and give each criteiron a weight based on its improatnce and then you would rate each option and compute the optimal decison
such a task can be dauntng which is why have too many choices can lead ppl to making no decison
ex. in a store, those who look at many more jam choices are less likely to buy one
this illustrates that tehre is a limit to how much info we can consider when making a decison
Accroding to Simon, our thinking capabilities are limited: we have limited attention, memory capabilities and processing power
often we also have limited info and time
these limited rrsoucres infleunce our wilingness to make a decison and constrain how logical and reasonable our decisons can be
Simon argued that ppl experience bounded rationality - their capaty to make a rational decision is bounded or constrained by their limited resources
sometimes ppl turn to others and to tech to work around their limitations
in addition to turning to the outside world for help with thinking, ppl have psycholgcal tricks for making judgements and decisons quick with less effort
according to dual processing theories, ppl have two types of thinking that they use to make a judgement and decison
the controlled system is slower and more effortful and leads to more thoughtful and rational outcomes
the autamtic system is fast and fairly effortless and leads to decent outcomes most of the time
both of these modes of thinking nvolve trade-offs so ppl selectvly use one mode or the other depending on their eneds
ex. bc the autamtic system allows quick judgement ppl fall back on it when they are tired, overwhelmed by info or especially interested in coming to a fast resolution
bc the controlled system takes more time and mental enegry, ppl engage in it for decisons that rlly matetr and dont involve time pressure
Going with our Gut: How emotion guides reason
the emotional or gut repsonses we experience provide a way for ppl to make judgements and decisons effcinetly and efefctlivly
Zajonc proposed that when ppl first econyter a decison to be made, their first rxn is an affective one
affectiive rxns are a key ingredient in our emotions, moods and attitudes but are more simple: they are a basic felling good for me or feeling bad for me
zajonc argued that. tehse intial affetive reactions are so quick and automatic that they guide ppls decisons more often than reason
affective heurtic: a tendency to use to pos or neg affect we associate with various objects and events in the world to make judgements and decisons
ppl apply teh affective heuristc even when thinking abt events that havent happened yet but that they only imagine
fellinsg abt imagiend events can gudie our decisons- pulling us towrd some choices and away from others
damasio agrued that affetive reactions arnet only helpful for guiding our decison,s they are essential
damasio studies ppl with damage to centromedial frontal cortex
these indivduals function well intelectually: their memories work and they can reson logically
what they lack is an ability to associate affective rxns of good or bad with the possible consequences of their actions
that means that imagining standing on egde of building wouldnt cause any emotions
thics lack of affetive resonse makes it much mored ififuclt to know how to act
a conseuqence of being unable to use an affect to guide decisons is mkaing choices that are not in ones best interest
damasio describes a case study of a man with brain damage called elliot
he made bad decisons without anger or sadness
when faced with the bad results he felt nothing so he coldnt learn from his mistakes
his brain damge made it hard for him to make some decisons at all
without affect to guide his choise he would spedn an entire afternoon analzying all the possible sorting schemes etc.
moral judgement- judgements abt rightness or wrongness of behaviour
ex. a familys dog was kileld infornt of their house but bc tehy heard dog meat is yum they cut it up and cook it and eat it
many ppl react to this sitaton with feeling that families actions are mroally wrong and with disgust
researchers have found that when ppl evaluate mroal situations, brain regions that are invlved in repsidng to phsyically disgusting situations become active
if the affective response to a situation is critical to shaping ppls moral judgement of it, then inc how disgusted ppl feel should amplify how harshly they jduge a morally mabigous situation
in a study, researchers gave patrcopants moral vignettes to evaluate
the researchers then manipulated whetehr the lining of a nearby trashcan had been trated with fart spray
partcpants exposed to stink room made hrsher moral judgements
these finidng suggest a pouential downside of using affect to guide our thinking: if our affect can be manipulated so too can our judgements and decisons
manipulating our decisons through our emotions is a key part of many advertisng campaigns
ofc we can manipulate afect to helpppl make healtheir decisons as well
