Research Review on Accuracy of Memory

Research Review on Accuracy of MemoryMeghan Amber-Rose TurnbullExplain and evaluate what research has taught us about why our memories argon non always accurate.Memoryp1 is a mechanism whereby the brain installs and retrieves information to be used in everyday life. Psychologists piddle come to guess the existence of retrospect, as we do not continuously re-learn information every time it is of need. This is what lead psychologists to develop three key processes in remembrance. These are encoding, storage and retrieval. Encoding processes draw in information from the after-school(prenominal) world use the senses. Each piece of information is given a unique code to en open it to be entered into the memory system. Storage processes use this coded information to enable the memory system to retain information. This coded information is stored as internal representations which come in varying forms such as words, faces, sounds etc. Retrieval processes enable access to the stored information and come in two forms, recognition and recall. Recognition matches coded information which is stored to what is being perceived in the outside world whereas recall (brings information that is stored to your attention.) involves searching memory stores. Recall is what helps you to remember where you last placed an object such as your wallet. These three memory processes lap up together, therefore, how easy and how a lot information is encoded then determines how much is stored and retrieved (Brace, 2007, pp113-114). This essay will now explain and evaluate what research has taught us about why our memories are not always accurate.One possible reason for memory in true statement is the presence of neuropsychological impairment or accidental brain damage. Localization of function is a theoretical method that believes particular areas of the brain play a key role in functions such as memory. When take aparting this, psychologists use brain see technology such as positro n emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Patients are asked to complete certain mental tasks during a s push aside. The scans can then pick up brain activity and pin point which part of the brain is not functioning correctly. This can enable psychologists to understand why or how their memory may not be accurate and help in patients recovery. Unfortunately for some, the damage may be too severe and incurable. This can be seen in patients suffering from Alzheimers and dementia. (Brace and Roth, 2007, pp144-145p2)Research conducted by (Martin) Conway and colleagues looked at how well students retained information, over a 12 year period, after completing a cognitive psychology course. The experiment tested for general overall knowledge of what was studied and they found that names were forgotten rather than principals and statistics. This is possibly due to less information being coded to a name than that of principals and statistics when informat ion was originally taken inp3. This could be seen as a demarcation as important information can be forgotten due to a fault in one of the key processes (in this case at encoding). Their study also found a significant strength as after 4 years the participants memories stabilized and what they were still able to severalise at this point would potentially stay in their memory for life, meaning the participants know the information rather than remember it. (Brace and Roth, 2007, pp118)Other researchers that focused on the accuracy of memory were Loftus and Palmer (1974). They looked at the effect that leadership distrusts can have on memory. They did this by conducting an experiment whereby participants were shown video clips of car accidents. Each participant was then asked a variation of the question about how straightaway were the cars going when they hit each other? with the verb hit being changed each time for a more cherry verb such as smashed, collided and bumped. The part icipants estimates of speed were much higher when asked how fast a car was going when it smashed into the other car. It seems that the more red-faced verb convinced the participants that the cars in that clip were going faster when they were all the same speed. In a similar second experiment, one third were asked About how fast the cars were going when they smashed into each other?, one third were asked how fast they were going when they hit and a control group were not asked a question. subsequently seven days all participants were then asked the question did you see any broken glass? Out of the participants that had been asked the more violent leading question using the word smashed, 32 per cent admitted to seeing broken glass, even though there had been no broken glass shown on the video clip. An reinforcement of the research conducted by Loftus and Palmer (1974), is that it gained a lot of knowledge into the misinformation effect. This means information that is given to a per son after an event takes place can rattling override (or merge with) the memory that they originally have due to the memory not being encoded properlyp4. Yet, this can also be seen as a damage as If memory can be influenced this easily using only leading questions, it could be used to effect witness testimonies and people can be made to remember events that they did not actually witness. (Brace, 2007, pp133-134)There is also much to be said about the accuracy of autobiographical memories, which are episodes that an somebody can remember from their life. This includes past experiences and biographical information. From this, Brown and Kulik (1977) devised the flashbulb memory. Flashbulb memories are formed when certain conditions, such as surprising and emotionally arousing events, are met and hold detailed and stable memories. Brown and Kulik (1977) used insider viewpoints in their research and found that memories of events, such as the assassination of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King, were highly detailed and much more accurate than other memories. A limitation to this area of research is that it depends solely on personal circumstance. What an individual finds, surprising, arousing and important will determine how well they will remember an event. For instance, the assassination of Martin Luther King registered a higher number of flashbulb memories with black compass north Americans than white North Americans. This means the accounts of white North Americans were less accurate (of the event) than the accounts of black North Americans. However, their research also showed a significant strength in memory recall as flashbulb memories store such a detailed and vivid account of what happened. When asked, participants could remember who they were with, where they were and exactly what they were doing when they learned of the surprising event. (Brace, 2007, pp140p5)Collective memories also play a part in how accurate recollections of past events can be. J ean Piaget (1960) spoke of his own experience of collective memory. Piaget was able to describe in detail an instance when a bit tried to kidnap him as a child. Subsequently, at the age of fifteen Paigets nanny wrote to his family to admit that she had made the story up and the attempted catch never took place. Fifty years on, Piaget could still remember the scratches the man had left on the face of his nanny during the supposed event. Paigets collective memory of the abduct is possibly due to family repeatedly discussing in detail what happened. Over a period of time, Piaget came to believe that he had witnessed this kidnapping and formed memories of what happened based on what others had told him. (An expediency of this is that) Piaget was able to recall this particular memory in so much detail after fifty years, showing that the information had been told was encoded and stored perfectly and thus was able to be retrieved. This instance shows how memory is not always accurate , as Piaget describes his memory of the kidnapping as being witnessed first-hand. Essentially, his memory of the event was fabricated from information he had been told by family members. (Brace, 2007, pp143p6)Research has shown that there are many factors that can affect the accuracy of our memoryp7. However, these factors are dependent on individual and personal circumstance. The research of Conway (1991) verbalize that memory inaccuracies were due to a fault in one of the key processes. For instance, if there isnt enough information taken in and coded it makes it highly toilsome for the information to be retrieved in any detail. Piaget (1960) and Loftus and Palmer (1974) both focused on the effect that other people can have on influencing the memory of an individual (. Meaning) illustrating that others can make you believe you have witnessed a situation just by talking about it often enough or using leading questions and persuasive verbiage . The research of Brown and Kulik (1 977) concentrated more on personal circumstance. They found that how accurate a persons memory is of a situation depends on how interesting, surprising or emotionally stimulating they, as a person, find the event. What also must be taken into consideration is the supposition of brain damage and neuropsychological impairment this can affect the accuracy of memory as the part of the brain that is responsible for memory recall may be damaged in some way. To conclude, the research mentioned in this essay has given a vast pool of knowledge into why our memories are not always accurate.ReferencesBrace, N. and Roth, I. (2007) Memory structures, processes and skills In D. Miell, A. Phoenix, K. Thomas (Eds.), Mapping Psychology, Chapter 8 (2nd ed, pp. 113145). Milton Keynes The Open University.Brown, R. and Kulik, J. (1977) Flashbulb memories, Cognition, vol.5, pp.73-99p8.Conway, M.A., Cohen, G.M. and Stanhope, N. (1991) On the very long-term retention of knowledge acquired through balloc k education twelve years of cognitive psychology, Journal of experimental psychology General, vol.120, pp.395-409.Loftus, E.F. and Palmer, J.C. (1974) Reconstruction of automobile destruction an example of the interaction between language and memory, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, vol.13, pp.585-9.Piaget, J. (1960) Play, Dreams and Imitation in Childhood, New York, Nortonp1A good introduction in terms of explaining what is involved in memory and the issue, but you need to state precisely how you plan to organise the essay.p2Note that individuals may also vary in memory function due to brain differences.p3This is a good point names do not have a specific meaning nor do they relate to the person (except in some cultures) so are easily forgotten.p4In fact there is debate about the cause of the misinformation effect which could also be due to not attending at encoding, due to fear or misattributing the source of information so it is thought to be real (as with Piagets story and Crombags study of memories of an air crash.).p5You might have commented that some psychologists question how accurate flashbulb memories are.p6Like the memory of Loftus and Palmers participants their memory was reconstructed.p7This conclusion is well focused on the evaluative part of the question and summarises your points well. You might also have considered methodological issues.p8Dont simply add references from the end of the chapter unless you have read them first hand. If you have read ABOUT them in the course book you need only cite them in the main body of the essay.