Chapter 85. How Reliable Is Your Memory?
Learning Objectives
Discover a situation in which memory becomes unreliable.
Identify the reason for the memory failure in that situation.
Practice 1: Memorizing a List of Words
Practice 1: Memorizing a List of Words
Select the "Display word list" button to begin the test.
We're going to test your memory for a series of 15 words displayed one at a time in the box below. After all the words have been presented, you will be asked to recall as many as you can.
Recall Test
When you have typed all the words you can remember, select the FINISHED button.Type all the words you can recall, in any order. Put one space between words. You must spell each word exactly as it was presented
Recognition Test
When each word appears in the box, select one of the buttons to indicate whether the word was presented in the original series.Now we will present another list of words, one at a time, in the box below. Some of the words were presented in the original series, and others are new.
Select the NEXT button for Practice 2 and learn the memory test results.
Practice 2: Results from the Memory Test
Practice 2: Results from the Memory Test
Words Presented |
Words Recalled |
Words Recognized |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
| Recall Score: | |
|---|---|
| Recognition Score: |
The first column shows the actual series of 15 words in the order presented.
The second column displays the words you recalled correctly. If you "recalled" any words that were not in the original list, they are shown in the space beneath the line.
-
The third column shows the words from the recognition task and your judgment ("presented" or "new") about each word.
Pay special attention to the word "sleep." That word was not on the original list, so if you "recalled" or "recognized" it, you have just experienced what researchers call a false memory.
Review
Review
Select the NEXT button to continue with the Review.
1. People like to believe that their memory of an event closely matches what actually happened. For example, if people witness a traffic accident, when they later recall that event, it seems as if they are replaying a video clip of the accident in their mind.
Review
Review
Select the NEXT button to continue with the Review.
2. But researchers have demonstrated that false memories (recollections of events that did not occur) can be created fairly easily. Once these memories are established, they feel very authentic—as real as memories of actual events.
Review
Review
Select the NEXT button to continue with the Review.
3. One method of inducing false memories involves presenting information that evokes a familiar context. Later, the person will remember the gist of that information rather than the actual details. This can create a false memory of having heard or seen other information related to that context.
Review
Review
Select the NEXT button to continue with the Review.
4. For example, hearing the words “nurse,” “patient,” and “surgery” will evoke the context of a hospital. This activates other associations with the hospital context—a process called priming. Because doctors are associated with hospitals, people may later remember hearing the word “doctor,” even though that word was not presented.
Review
Review
Select the NEXT button to continue with the Review.
5. Researchers have compared memory performance on recognition tasks (where all the information is presented, and you merely have to identify which items you remember) and on recall tasks (where only partial information is provided, and you need to retrieve the rest). In general, memory performance is better on recognition tasks, as shown on this graph. But the likelihood of a false memory based on the gist, or context, is just as high on recognition tasks as on recall tasks.
Quiz 1
Quiz 1
Match the terms to their descriptions by dragging each colored circle to the appropriate gray circle. When all the circles have been placed, select the CHECK ANSWER button.
Quiz 2
Quiz 2
Answer the question. Then, select the CHECK ANSWER button.
When people hear the words yawn, bed, and wake, later they will probably recall hearing the word sleep. Why does this memory error happen?
Conclusion