Psychology 200

Module 28

•          Forgetting, Memory Construction and…

Forgetting

• Encoding Failure
• Storage Decay
• Retrieval Failure

Memory Construction

• Misinformation and Imagination Effect

• Source Amnesia
• Discerning True and False Memories
• Children’s Eyewitness Recall
• Repressed or Constructed Memories of Abuse?

Improving Memory

•          Forgetting

•          Encoding Failure

•          Storage Decay

Bahrick (1984) showed a similar pattern of forgetting and retention over 50 years.

•          Retrieval Failure

•          Interference

Learning some information may disrupt retrieval of other information.

•          Retroactive Interference

•          Motivated Forgetting

Motivated Forgetting: People unknowingly revise their memories.

Repression: Defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

•          Why do we forget?

Forgetting can occur at any memory stage; we filter, alter, or lose much information during these stages.

•          Memory Construction

While tapping our memories, we filter or fill in missing pieces of information to make our recall more coherent.

•          Misinformation and Imagination Effects

Eyewitnesses reconstruct memories when questioned about the event.

•          Misinformation

•          Memory Construction

•          Source Amnesia

•          Discerning True & False Memories

Just like true perception and illusion, real memories or memories that seem real are difficult to discern.

•          False Memories

Repressed or Constructed?

Some adults do actually forget childhood episodes of abuse.

False Memory Syndrome

A condition in which a person’s identity and relationships center around a false but strongly believed memory of traumatic experience sometimes induced by well-meaning therapists.

•          Children’s Eyewitness Recall

Children’s eyewitness recall can be unreliable if leading questions are posed, however, if cognitive interviews are neutrally worded accuracy of their recall increases usually suggesting lower percentage of sexual abuse.

•          Memories of Abuse

Are memories of abuse repressed or constructed?

Many psychotherapists believe that early childhood sexual abuse results in repressed memories.

However other psychologists question such beliefs and think that such memories may be constructed.

•          Constructed Memories

Loftus’ research has shown that if false memories (lost at the mall, or drowned in a lake) are implanted in individuals, they construct (fabricate) their memories.

•          Consensus on Childhood Abuse

1. Injustice happens
2. Incest and other sexual abuse happens
3. Forgetting happens
4. Recovered memories are commonplace
5. Recovered memories under hypnosis or drugs are unreliable.
6. Memories of things happening before 3 years are unreliable
7. Memories whether real or false are emotionally upsetting

•          Improving Memory

1. Study repeatedly to boost recall long-term recall.
2. Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material.
3. Make material personally meaningful.
4. Use mnemonic devices:
   • associate with peg words — something already stored
   • make up story
   • chunk — acronyms

5. Activate retrieval cues — mentally recreate situation and mood.
6. Recall events while they are fresh — before you encounter misinformation.
7. Minimize interference:
   1. Test your own knowledge
   2. Rehearse and determine what you do not yet know