Chapter 1. Retrieval: A Journey Into Memory

Short Description

Nick Breckenridge recalls an important conversation he had with his daughter, Amber, who is now missing.

Long Description

In the top video, Nick Breckenridge recalls an important conversation he had with his daughter, Amber, who is now missing. The present emptiness in his life produces changes in the memory of his last talk with his daughter. Interspersed with his current viewing of past pictures and letters on a clothesline, is Nick's recall of the conversation. It begins as an angry exchange between father and daughter over her abrupt plans to travel and ends as an understanding, mutually supportive dialogue.

In the bottom video, Daniel Schacter, of Harvard University, describes the memory distortion that he labels "bias." Our recall of the past, explains Schacter, can be distorted by our current knowledge, beliefs, and feelings. Research suggests that present feelings about a close relationship impact our recall of the past state of that same relationship. Schacter explains that the current needs of the father may have led him to soften his recall of what he initially remembered as a harsh exchange.

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