Thanks for the Memories! By: Lyndsay Smokovitz
Introduction hlp://mercercogni>vepsychology.pbworks.com/f/1290909633/memory.jpg Who? Elizabeth Lo:us Cogni>ve Psychologist Hypothesis? A ques>on that contains a false presupposi>on allows the brain to incorporate new, false informa>on into the memory The memory is not recalled, but reconstructed hlp://mercercogni>vepsychology.pbworks.com/f/1290909633/memory.jpg What next? Four experiments were conducted Each experiment tested memory with a false presupposi>on pre sup po si tion Something that is implied and must be true for statement to make sense
Experiment I Objective: Alter memory using a false presupposition 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 35% Group A 53% Group B Participants who claimed to have seen a stop sign 150 participants were shown a traffic accident video clip involving a car that ran a stop sign Participants then answered 10 questions đ of the group (Group A) received the question: How fast was car A going when it turned right? Other đ (Group B) received: How fast was car going when it ran stop sign? Both groups were then asked if they saw a stop sign
Experiment IIObjective: Alter memory using presupposition and delayed memory test 40 participants viewed clip of class being disrupted by 8 antiwar demonstrators Were then given 20 questions (all but 1 question was identical): đ of participants (Group C) were asked: Was the leader of the 4 demonstrators male? Other đ (Group D) were asked: Was the leader of the 12 demonstrators male? Group D Group C 6.4 8.85 After 1 week, participants returned to answer: How many demonstrators did you see in the classroom? 0 2 4 6 8 10
Experiment IIIObjective: Altered memory to include objects that never existed in original event 150 university students watched a video involving a white sports car accident After video, participants answered 10 questions: đ of participants (Group E) were asked: How fast was the white car going when it passed the barn on the country road? Other đ (Group F) were asked: How fast was the white car going on the country road? Participants returned to answer 10 new questions Group F 2.7% Group E 17.3% 0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% Participants that claimed to have seen a barn
Experiment IVObjective: Demonstrated how memory would adjust to the mention of an object that never existed in the original event 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 29.2% Group G 15.6% 8.4% Group Group H I The above percentages were the amount who saw the objects that were never part of the original event. 150 participants viewed a film involving a collision between a car and a man pushing a baby carriage Answered questionnaire containing 40 filler questions and these 5 key questions: Group G answered direct questions: Did you see a barn in the film? Group H answered questions containing false presuppositions: Did you see a station wagon parked in the front of the barn? Group I is the control group and only answered the 40 filler questions
Data Concluded/Results: Data shows that the par>cipants memory was altered to fit what the presupposi>on implied. Experiment I A larger amount of Group B claimed to have seen a stop sign Stop sign is the presupposition Experiment III The barn is implied to exist in the question There was a 14.6% difference between the two groups Group that received the question with a false presupposition had a greater amount of participants claim to see the barn Experiment II On average, the groups claimed to have seen a number near the presupposed number Questions contained an implied number of antiwar demonstrators Experiment IV The data from the direct question group shows that just the mention of an object will alter memory Greatest amount of participants to see nonexistent object False presupposition group was second to experience the impact Implication alters memory
Real World Application It is important to question the reliability of memory as a resource Inaccuracy of an eyewitness memory in a court case Memory is taken through a process from time of event to trial Police interviews, dinner-table stories, revisiting memory after event, and retelling event at trial Each time a memory is recalled, the neural pathways are altered According to National Geographic, in 2014 4.1% of individual s on trial were falsely convicted
Personal Application Have you ever reminisced in your favorite memory with your best friend? Two different perspectives are brought to light, but neither are right Both memories have been reconstructed overtime When trying to resolve a two-sided conflict Remember human error in recalling memory
Works Cited Hock, R. R. (2013). Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Ciccarelli, S., White, J. N., (2013). Psychology. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. All images are personal property except for the following: Edgar, J. (Photographer). (2011). Retrieved April 20, 2015, from: http://edgarjaquez.deviantart.com Retrieved April 20, 2015, from: http://www.rosiesandz.com Childhood Memories [Photograph]. (2010). Retrieved April 20, 2015, from: http://scribbles1337.deviantart.com Pham, H. X. (Photographer). (2013). Retrieved April 20, 2015, from: http://www.slate.com/articles Retrieved April 20, 2015, from: http://mercercognitivepsychology.pbworks.com Retrieved April 20, 2015, from: http://www.viralnovelty.net Retrieved April 20, 2015, from: http://picturequotes.info/images/dory-fish-meme Retrieved April 20, 2015, from: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com
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