Is Reconstructive Memory Reliable

Throughout this entire week, I have come to learn that memories are reconstructed when we remember them; however, this doesn’t make them fake, they are indeed real in my opinion. This is also my opinion on repressed memories. Repressed memories are real. Therapies in which therapist continue to suggest there’s “something else” (Loftus) are the reason why people doubt the authenticity of repressed memories. In the video False Memories, the study showing how subjectable people are to formulating false memories is astonishing and it proves just how easy it is to create fake memories. I believe that suggestibility is the main cause behind constructed/fake memories: Paul McHugh made it very clear in Can Trama Hid in the Back of the Mind?” to remind people that certain types of therapies (hypnosis and drugs) can make a person more susceptible. “Some contemporary therapists have been known to tell

Catherine Genovese was about to walk into her apartment late at night when all of a sudden, a man attacked her with a knife. As she was stabbed and raped by the man, lights flashed on from the windows of surrounding apartment buildings. Although she screamed for help several times, nobody came out to aid her. After the murder concluded and a case erupted, it was reported that there were thirty-eight witnesses watching from their windows. John Darley and Bibb Latané were two young psychologists who read about this incident, and they were inspired to study the subject of witness behavior. They conducted several experiments in which they tested the conditions necessary for people to ignore someone’s cry for help. There is a notable quote that Slater includes that states

Eyewitness testimony is a legal term that allows witnesses to inform us what happened the night of a specific event. This is a necessity for an accurate case, and helps the jury decide the right verdict. Without eyewitness testimony we would not be able to solve cases as easily. With saying this, there are also many things that contemplate whether their information is as precise as they say. There are an abundance of factors that affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. “Psychologists usually separate the process of remembering into three stages: Encoding, storage and misinformation effect”(Science)

Good friend, W. (2012, December 4). Amnesia in '50 First Dates ' Retrieved July 21, 2016, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychologist-the-movies/201212/amnesia-in-50-first-dates

Unless observed from the onset of the investigation, studies show that the confidence level of the witness has a “poor relationship” with the accuracy of the identification (Stenzel 2017). Because memory can be easily altered and misleading, high levels of confidence do not indicate that the witness has correctly identified the suspect (Stenzel 2017). Initially, Thompson-Cannino identified Cotton, saying, “I think this is him,” but by the time she got to her second round of identifications, she said “Bingo! I did it right!” (Stenzel 2017). Studies show that confidence in the witness’ confidence in their memory increases with time (Hughes 2014). However, there is usually an extended period of time between when the crime took place and the trial, and therefore, the witness’ confidence statement should be given little to no weight in the

Her earliest studies of eyewitness testimony addressed several issues: when someone sees a crime or accident, how accurate is his or her memory? These studies led Loftus to ask what happens when witness are questioned by police officers, and what if those questions are suggestive (Loftus, 2003). For instance, when Loftus began showing people films of traffic accidents, she found that a question such as “How fast were the cars going when the smashed into each other?” led to higher estimates of speed than a more neutral question that used the verb “hit”. Moreover, the “smashed” question led more people to falsely remember seeing broken glass when there was none. Her early papers concluded that leading questions could contaminate or distort a witness’s memory (Loftus,

The Innocence Project lists six primary causes of wrongful convictions exonerated by DNA evidence. The causes are eyewitness misidentification, unvalidated or improper forensic science, false confessions or admissions, government misconduct, informants, and inadequate defense. The leading cause of wrongful convictions proven by DNA evidence is eyewitness misidentification. Eyewitness misidentification was a factor in more than 70% of convictions whose rulings were reversed due to DNA testing nationwide. Throughout history, the reliability of eyewitness identification has been questioned. In 1907, Hugo Mustenberg examined the reliability of eyewitness identification in his book, “On the Witness Stand”. In a study of 65 wrongful convictions completed

The description of the Lockerbie bombing may provide image on how lengthy and complicated an investigation and a trial process could be. Eyewitness would have to go through repeated interviews. The purpose of this procedure is to assess the consistency and accuracy of the testimony. Unfortunately, it is often not realized that repeated interview may also have a negative effect on the quality of the testimony given. A study by Sharps, Herrera, Dunn, and Alcala investigated the effect of repeated questioning in the format based of police procedure (2012).

The criminal justice system depends majorly on eyewitness identification for investigating and prosecuting crimes. Psychologists have been the only ones who have warned the justice system of problems with eyewitness identification evidence. Recent DNA exoneration cases have corrupted the warnings of eyewitness identification researchers by showing that mistaken eyewitness identification was the largest factor contributing to the conviction of many innocent people eyewitness testimonies are not reliable therefor you would assume they would be taken out of court, but instead

In Gittins, Paterson, and Sharpe (2006) study they tested how traumatic situations effect the way they remember things. The participants of the study were shown a video of what happened after a car accident. The video showed many hurt victims and at the end a dead body with a mangled face. The participants had a task of writing everything they remembered about the video. Then they filled out a Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, which assess the participants lever of stress, anxiety and depression. For the Memory measure section, the participants were given a questionnaire that were structured in the form of a cross-examination style questions. The study showed that when the participant frequently recalled the event both lead to an increase in accuracy and a likelihood of developing false memories. And avoidance of the event had lead to a decrease in memory. This research suggests that some PTSD symptoms can help memory recall and others can prevent it (Gittins, Paterson, and Sharpe, 2006, p. 25). PTSD is not proven to help memories, yet it is not proven to harm it. It can be something that interferes with memories, in some cases it can lead to misidentification of suspects involved in traumatic

However, memories are not always reliable. According to Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, memory is continually being reconstructed by usual events that happen throughout one’s everyday life (cite video). Elizabeth also discusses that every time a person recalls a memory it is slightly distorted (cite video). Considering the fact that the authors of these memoirs are writing about stressful situations, then the memories are more likely to be distorted than usual memories because the hormones released during stressful situations cause the brain to form new connections (cite video). Thus while reading these memoirs, it needs to be taken into consideration that some of the information could be exaggerated or

Although on the surface, the element of memory in the study of psychology may seem basic and rudimentary, the depths of memory are essentially, untapped. To truly understand the depths of memory, one must understand the storage of memory, the recollection of memory, and the processes of sharing memories. In order to obtain a better understanding of the subject matter, the examination of the independent documentary, Stories We Tell, was applied. Memory is also conceptualized into types, stages, and processes. These principles were measured in the lucrative and thorough examination of a childhood memory. In order to ensure the reliability and validity of the memory, the use of self-recollection, the use of recording, and the use of sharing with

Based on this article two experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 was given to children ages 4-6 and memory test was given 15 months later. Based on the memory test the post event information appeared to be decreasing by the long term test. Experiment 2 tested recognition memory among 4-9 years old, and then tested at 10 months. The results concluded that children memory was affected 1 year later. This source is reliable because it came from a scholarly source. This source however is not biased but rather objective because it explains two different experiments and all children not specifically one gender. This source fits my research because it conducts two different experiments due to memory of the past. The goal of this experiment was to determine how much memory was recalled after a certain period of time. This was a good source and it will back up my

A similar study was carried out to test the flashbulb memory theory. In this study, the participants were undergraduates from either UK elsewhere but UK. The participants were asked about the resignation of the British Prim Minister Margaret Thatcher 1990. Participants were interviewed and asked about the event after a few days of the event had passed. They were reinterviewed 11 months later. The results were that 86% of the UK participants had flashbulb memories of the event. However, there were fewer non-UK participants (29%) that still had flashbulb memories. Hence, it was claimed that the event met the criteria for flashbulb memories of British people. This study suggests that flashbulb memories exist and are not the same as normal memories.

The article was based off a team effort of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and University of Cambridge Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience base out of Cambridge England did a study try to examine how suppression affect a memory’s unconscious influence people. The research study focused on suppression of visual memories. Researchers first believed that majority of trauma had a visual aspect (University of Cambridge, 2014). That most people who have some type of traumatic experiences like military war or some detrimental close encounter visualizes traumatic experience. That these fortunate circumstances had been imbedded in their psyche and with something so traumatic they will never forget the