remembering complex event - memory errors and autobio memory Flashcards
memory error example
1922 cargo plane lost power to 2 engines and crashed into side of building in amsterdam
193 participants interviewed 10 months later
more than half reported seeing on TV
no recording of crash, no film or reenactment was ever shown on tv
when pressed for details, many provide info about speed, direction etc
also particiaptns often report seeing books or other typical items in an office when they are not there
memory networks
hypothesis regarding memory errors
if memory is a network as previously described then events are not filed away separately
instead memory for a single node involves many nodes or many pieces of highly interconnected info
these connections which can aid in retrieval can also lead us to remember incorrectly
intrusion errors
errors in which other knowledge intrudes into the remembered event
better memory = more intrusions, worse memory = fewer intrusions
bransford and johnson study = More errors were made by participants in the experimental group because they identified more sentences as being originally presented, even though they were not. to do with hammers and nails
DRM procedure
deese-roediger-mcdermott
zaps lab one
read list of words
participants recall words not on the list that would make sense to be on the list = intrusions of mistaken theme words
shema
plural schemata
knowledge about what is involved in a particular experience
can also involve scripts - conception of a seqence of actions tat occur during a particular experience eg restuarant or dentist trip
are schemata helpful in remembering stuff
can help us when remembering an event
-memory can include info not actually experience but inferred because it is expected / consistent with the schema
but schemata can also cause us to make errors when remembering an event
- you might remember seeing magazines in a denstis office even if there were none
-memories are regularised
war of ghosts experiment
had participants attempt to remember a story from a different culture
repeated reproduction
over time reproduction became shorter, contained omissions and inaccuracies
changed to make story more consistent with their own culture
misinformaiton effect
misleading information presented after a person witnesses an event can change how that person describes the event later
loftus and palmer car hit, bumbed, colided, smashed = increasing estimates of speed
loftus et al stop and yield experiment
series of slides showing a traffic accident with one of two signs = stop or yield
participants in each group were asked about whether they saw another car pass by when the red car stopped at stop (gp 1) or at yield sign (gp 2)
consistent saw sign and asked about that sign but inconsistent if sign didn’t match what they saw
what are the three hypotheses about the misinformation effect
memory trace replacement (loftus) - MPI replaces original memory
retroactive interferecne - MPI interferes but does not elimate original meomry
source monitoring error - MPI mistakenly identified as what was originally experienced. failure to distingish source of original memory
bekerian and bowers re-created loftus with one difference.. explain
loftus = slides in random order B&B = pairs of slides in chronological order - no significant effect of MPI, enough context cues to disentangle real from MPI memory. could not have happened if memory simply overwritten (goes against memory trace replacement hypothesis)
autobio memory errors
can implant false autobio memories eg eating an egg salad as children and becoming ill
also loftus got participants parents to give descriptions of childhood experiences, experimenter then chats about it with child adding new events. when discussing it later, participant remembered the new events as actually happening
can a picture recreate a memory
yes
whole hot airballon rides for example
misbeahving in class from class photo
importance of eyesitness testimony
one of the most convincing types of evidence to a jury
but can be inaccurate - mistaken identity, constructive nature of memory
ronald cotton eyewitness testimony
convicted of rape based on eyewitness account
served 11 years then exonerated by DNA evidence
errors in eyewitness testiony
-wells and bradfield gunman
saw security videotape with gunman in view 8 seconds
everyone identified someone as the gunman from photos after
the actual gunmans picture was not presented
errors in crime memory dues to attention and arousal
low = attend to irrelevatn info
high = focus too narrowly eg on weapon
moderate = best for being aware of relevant info
so shooting decreases details recalled about
perpertrator least remembered, middle = victim, highest about weapon
errors in testimony due to familiarity
source monitoring
witness choses fmailiar face
if actual robber not in photospread will identify male teacher they had previously seen
if actual robber in photospread will still identify male techer just not as heavily
erros in testimony due to suggestion
suggestive questioning
- misinformation effect
The type of feedback from the experimenter influenced the participants’ confidence in their identification, with confirming feedback resulting in the highest confidence.
also biasing effects of post identification feedback
Having someone else pick the same person = more confidence
Being asked the same question over and over again = more confidence (but not more accuracy)
Many propose a double-blind procedure – witness and police both do not know who the “suspect” is.
confidence and altering memory
confidence in ones memories may increase post event questioning
makes memories easier to retrieve by fluency of retrieval
this does not mean confidence is never meaningfully related to accuracy - just that is can be altered after the fact a court witness as confident = rubbish / meaningless measure
but is predictive if assessed immediately after ID
how are we trying to correct eyewitness errors
inform witness perpetrator might not be in lineup
use fillers in lineup similar to suspect - but not too similar!
sequential vs simultaneously lineups - book says sequential = superior, recent studies contradict this
improve interviewing techniques = use the cognitive interview
define autobiographical memory
memory of episodes and events in a persons own life
- mental time travel
- multidimensional (spatital, emotional and sensory components)
what is the self reference effect
better memory for information relevant to oneself
what is the self schema
a set of beliefs and memories about oneself
autobiographical memory study using photos they took vs photos taken by someone else
both types of photos activated brain structures associated with episodic memories and processing scenes
own photos also activated structures associated with
-processing info about the self
-memory for visual space
-mental time travel memory
very rich memories
how are autobio memories subject to errors
are a mix of general recall and schema based reconstruction
are also biased to emphasize consistency and positive traits
what autobio events are well remembered
significant life events
highly emotional
transitional
reminisence bump
mempry is high for recent events and for events that occured in adolescence and ealry adulthood (10-30yo)
hypotheses about the reminisence bump
self-image - period assuming persons self-image
cognitive - encoding is better during periods of rapid change
cultural life script - culturally shared expectations structure recall
cognitive hypothesis of reminisence bump explained
encoding is better during periods of rapid change that are follwed by stability
evidence from those who emigrated to the US after young adulthood indicates reminisence bump is shifted = shift in reminisence bumo due to late emigration
memory for emotional stimuli
emotional events are remebered more easily and vivdly
emotion improves memory, becomes greater with time (may enhance consolidation)
brain activity - amygdala as events go through amygdala if emotional = better remembered
also narrowing of attention and more rehersal if emotional
flashbulb memories
memory for circumstances surrounding shocking, highly charger important events
highly emotional, vivid, very detailed, subjectively perceived as very accurate but arent
eg college students interviewed one day after challenger explosition then again 5 years later, confidence was high but there were many inaccuracies in their reports
also seen from 9/11 pariticpants
narrative rehersal hypothesis for why flashbulb memories are problematic
repeated viewing/ hearing of the event
- tv or talking to others
- could introduce errors in own memory
- every time memory is retrieved, slight errors can be made and then restored as part of the original memory - = game of telephone ( means chinese whispers)
how autobio memory reflects more general memory principles
importance of rehersal
foundations of generalized schemata from individual memory episodes
potential for intrusion erros and susceptibility to misinformation
other princpkes about autobio memory may be distinct = the role of emotion in shaping them may be less applicable to other kinds of memory
