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examBoard: AQA
examType: GCSE
lessonTitle: Factors Affecting Memory Accuracy
When we remember something, we're not simply playing back a perfect recording like a video. Memory is actually an active process where we reconstruct events based on what we encoded, our existing knowledge and information we've encountered since the original event.
Key Definitions:
Rather than being like a video recording that plays back exactly what happened, our memories are reconstructed each time we recall them. We fill in gaps with what "probably" happened based on our expectations and knowledge. This is why memories can change over time and why different people can remember the same event differently.
In 1932, Frederic Bartlett conducted a famous study where British participants read an unfamiliar Native American folk tale called "The War of the Ghosts." When asked to recall it later, participants changed details to fit their cultural expectations, shortened the story and made it more coherent according to their own schemas.
Schemas are mental frameworks that organize our knowledge about the world. They help us process new information quickly but can also lead to memory distortions.
When we encounter a situation, our brain activates relevant schemas that help us interpret what's happening. Later, when recalling the event, we may unconsciously fill in missing details based on these schemas rather than what actually occurred.
When you walk into a restaurant, your "restaurant schema" activates, creating expectations about menus, ordering and paying.
You might "remember" ordering a dish that wasn't actually available because it fits your schema of what that restaurant typically offers.
Over time, your restaurant schema updates based on new experiences, which will influence future memories.
Brewer and Treyens (1981) briefly placed participants in a university office before unexpectedly testing their memory of the room. Participants often "remembered" seeing books and other office-typical items that weren't actually present, demonstrating how schemas influence memory reconstruction.
The way questions are phrased can significantly influence how people remember events. This has major implications for eyewitness testimony in legal settings.
Leading questions contain assumptions or suggestions that can alter how someone remembers an event. For example, asking "How fast was the red car going when it smashed into the blue car?" suggests there was a violent collision and that one car was red and one was blue.
In this landmark study, participants watched videos of car accidents and were asked questions using different verbs to describe the collision ("hit," "smashed," "contacted," etc.). Those who heard stronger verbs like "smashed" estimated higher speeds and were more likely to falsely remember seeing broken glass.
Information we encounter after an event can blend with our original memory, creating a distorted recollection. This is called the misinformation effect.
Our memories are vulnerable to new information that we encounter after the original event. This information can become integrated with our original memory, making it difficult to distinguish between what we actually experienced and what we learned later.
News reports about an event you witnessed might add details you didn't actually see, but later you may "remember" seeing them. For example, if you witnessed a robbery and later news reports mentioned a weapon, you might falsely remember seeing one.
Talking about an event with others who experienced it differently can alter your own memory. Group discussions often lead to memory conformity, where individuals adopt others' recollections as their own.
In the "Lost in the Mall" study, researchers convinced participants they had been lost in a shopping mall as children (an event that never happened) by presenting a false story alongside true childhood memories provided by family members. About 25% of participants developed a detailed false memory of being lost, demonstrating how susceptible memory is to suggestion.
While memory is prone to distortion, certain conditions can help improve accuracy:
Recalling information soon after an event, before exposure to potentially misleading information, can help preserve accuracy.
Emotionally significant events are often remembered more accurately, though extreme stress can impair memory for some details.
A technique used by police that encourages witnesses to recreate the context of the event and report everything, even details they think are unimportant.
Understanding memory as an active process has important implications in many areas:
Courts now recognize the fallibility of eyewitness testimony. Police are trained to avoid leading questions and juries may be instructed about memory limitations. The Cognitive Interview technique has been developed to improve witness recall without introducing bias.
Teachers can help students build accurate memories by connecting new information to existing schemas, providing opportunities for immediate recall and being aware of how the phrasing of questions can influence understanding.
Think about a significant event from your childhood. How might schemas have influenced your memory of this event? Can you identify any post-event information (such as family stories, photographs, or conversations) that might have altered your original memory? This reflection can help you understand how your own memories are reconstructed rather than simply retrieved.
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