Cognitive Psychology False Memory Essay - 2269 Words

Running head: False Memory Theoretical and Applied/Practical Perspective of False Memory The human memory is subject to a multitude of errors, including source misattributions, distortion and creation of false memories. In order to do justice to this paper one must first determine what is â€Å"False memory†? False memory is memory for an event that did not occur or distorted memory of actual events (Gleaves, Smith, Butler, Spiegel, 2004). This type of memory has been an area of intense research interest for both theoretical and practical reasons and psychologists have long been interested in memory illusions and distortions, as such errors can inform theories of how the memory works (Hunt Ellis, 2004). From a†¦show more content†¦When this phenomenon occurs an individual may confuse the gist trace strength with the psychological experience of recollecting, which is normally mediated by retrieving verbatim traces of studied items. As lure items tend to match very strong gist traces in memo ry individuals believe they can recollect DRM lures. According to Arndt, (2010), â€Å"this theory proposes that although these errors are often phenomenologically similar to items that were episodically experienced, lures’ recollection phenomenology is representationally distinct from that of study items† (p.67). There is evidence however that false memory can be based largely on automatic processing and is amenable to only limited conscious control. For example, Dodd and MacLeod (2004), showed that mere exposure to DRM lists was sufficient to create a false memory: They presented DRM lists as coloured words in a Stroop test. Naming colours reduced accurate memory for list words as compared to reading coloured words, but false memory remained high for critical words. Furthermore, the elimination of false memory is difficult in that certain â€Å"encoding manipulations may lead to reductions in false memories through metamemorial processes occurring at retrieval† (Gallo, McDermott, Percer Roediger III, 2001, p.339). For example slowing presentation rate decreases the probability of falseShow MoreRelatedCognitive Psychology; Critical Report on Abducted by Ufo: Prevalence Information Affects Young Childrens False Memories for an Implausible Event1443 Words   |  6 PagesAssessment 1: Critical Review 1. Otgaar and colleagues looked at whether Prevalence information changes memory in any form when focusing on implausible events. The aim of the investigation was to see if children between the ages of 7-8 and 11-12 could create false memories when asked to recall an implausible or plausible event. 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