False Memory Research Paper

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Memory is a immense influence consciously and subconsciously, it enables us to determine the who, what, where and when throughout our everyday lives. We have the capability to form new memories, store them for extended lengths of time and retract them when needed. Thus without our memory process one would find life strenuous, even unfathomable. However memory is a complicated process and certain psychologists within the field are attempting to obtain a better understanding of one’s ability to recall past memories. Today the concept of False memory is a well known concept and reoccurring problem among the the psychological field. This formation of memory can not only cause emotional and physical harm to that specific individual but to others …show more content…

A false memory is a fabricated or disoriented recollection of an event that did not actually happen; memory is very prone to deception. In essence memories can be false in minor ways such as believing one left the remote on the coffee table when it was really on the kitchen counter. Contrastingly in major ways that have pro-founding implications for one’s self and others such as mistakenly believing one was once sexually abused as a child. Therefore it is crucial to distinguish the imperfections amongst memory in order to have accurate awareness of events that have actually occurred. One experiment used to test false memory was known as the “Lost-in-the-mall” study. Elizabeth Loftus and her associate Jacqueline Pickrell attempted to plant the specific memory of being lost in in a mall at the age of five. This was done amongst twenty four individuals …show more content…

This contributes to ones’s susceptibility to believing that a fictitious event actually occurred. The increased and repetitive use of one’s imagination when retrieving memory is a contributor to the development of false memory perception. Along with imagination inflation loftus refers to the concept of impossible memories. Loftus views the process of hypnosis and or guided memories to be irrelevant. Upon her perspective she believes that this only enhances, in fact solidifies the basis for false memories. According to Loftus, biological factors are the reason why it is inconceivable that adults can recall memories from early childhood. The hippocampus, a center for the creation of memories lacks the level of maturity in order to form and store memories. Thus implying the impossibility of the formation among these type of

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