Lecture 12 memory errors and distortion

Question 1

Bartlett’s Study

Answer 1

remembering; the war of ghosts

• recall of the story is largely accurate
• but not exactly: missed some, added some
• multiple re-tellings are inconsistent

memories are reconstructions of past events
-normalization: make a story more coherent and consistent than it was

Question 2

Brandsfor & Johnson (1972)

Answer 2

effects of script on memory encoding

If the balloons popped, the sound wouldn’t be able to carry…

• Some subjects: read the paragraph without seeing any context => remember very little.
• Other subjects: saw the proper context before reading => remember well
• Still others: saw the proper context after reading => remember very little

Question 3

reconstruction at recall

Answer 3

Dooling & Christiaanse (1977)

• One week later: “She was deaf, dumb, and blind” -‐ recognize Yes or No in the original passage?
• Group 1: provided no new info at testing. Reject the above sentence.
• Group 2: before recognition test, told that Carol Harris was Helen Keller’s real name; Now many incorrectly “recognize” the sentence.

So: Reconstruction can take place at retrieval.

Question 4

bias of retrospection

Answer 4

the exact way a question is worded can influence what a person claims to remember

ex) subjects view a short video segment of a car accident

Question 5

source memory

Answer 5

memory of precisely when and where an event occurred; extremely fallible

Jacoby: how to become famous overnight?

Question 6

children’s memory

Answer 6

highly suggestible

2-min visit to a preschool; subsequent immediate interview; half children: misleading question (10 weeks later = memory highly suggestible); others: no misleading question (10 weeks later: memory ok)

Question 7

What are the seven sins of memory?

Answer 7

transience, memory sin of omission; weakening or loss of memory over time
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absent-mindedness, memory sin of omission; desired info was not initially attended
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blocking, memory sin of omission; a thwarted search for info that we are desperately trying to retrieve
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misattribution, memory sin of commission; assign memory to the wrong source
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suggestibility, memory sin of commission; implanted memory as a result of leading questions
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bias, memory sin of commission; current knowledge affects memory of the past
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persistence, memory sin of commission; repeated recall of disturbing things that we wish to forget