How Reliable Is Your Memory

Critical Thinking & Reflection Post #3
After watching the TED Talk, “How Reliable is Your Memory” I was saddened to learn how unreliable eyewitness testimony is since hundreds of people’s lives have been ruined because of it. It is important to consider that not every memory someone remembers is real and while their intentions may not be to lie, memory itself gets changed unconsciously. Dr. Elizabeth Loftus did some amazing research in understanding false memories and explained how it relates to real-world situations.
Dr. Loftus’s studies made me think back to my own childhood memories and I realized much of what I remember are things that my parents told me which contaminated my memories. If my parents told me a lie, I would think that lie

was real since it was implanted in my memory and there would be no way for me to know the truth unless my parents told me. Even if they did tell me the truth, I can see myself insisting that that memory did occur as my mind is tricking me into thinking that memory is real due to the contamination. This notion of false memories makes me wonder which memories are ones I truly remember without anyone telling me and which ones have been changed by others. Dr. Loftus mentioned lying at the end of herTED Talk as a way to help an obese child improve their eating habits, which is a good situation to use false memories to improve that child’s lifestyle. Therefore, there are situations when altering memories is helpful by adding remarks or by telling stories of things that never really occurred. The main problem is when false memories occur in bad situations when knowing the truth is vital and when someone’s life is at risk.
Dr.

Loftus’s research on false memories relates to the concepts of episodic memory and retroactive interference. Episodic memory is the type of memory that Dr. Loftus talks about, an autobiographical memory is defined as the memory of things we have experienced. In the case of Steve Titus when the victim is asked to identify the offender in the lineup she says Titus is the one that looks the closest, but later in the trial, she states she is 100% certain it is him. This example relates to retroactive interference because when she is trying to recall his face the first time she is unsure if he indeed raped her. Meanwhile, during the trial she states she is certain he is the rapist since her memories have been altered by outside forces. Consequently, in the trial she is not taking into consideration that the first time she saw him she wasn’t completely sure it was him. In conclusion, now the new memories are affecting her response and interfering with what truly transpired. Most of the time people do not realize their memory changes and are sensitive to the outside world, where anything can affect it, which is what happened to the victim. The things that happened after the rape are interfering with the accuracy of her memory and led her to put an innocent man in jail. This is a perfect example of how false memories are created and how they affect daily life as what happened to Titus could have happened to

anyone.
My opinion of the reliability of eyewitness memory, including my own has changed because there is clear evidence that we make mistakes and our memories can be changed by numerous outside factors. These factors range from the media we consume on tv, the internet the news and from other people be they teachers’ friends or parents. I would not trust my own memory to identify a rapist or a murderer since there is a chance I could put someone innocent in jail due to false memories. I find false memories interesting as many people trust their memory 100% and will feel offended if anyone questions their memories. There is more than enough proof that eyewitness testimony is unreliable, but the good thing is we now have DNA testing, a far more accurate measure of innocence and guilt.