We can easily reconstruct our
memories by using the below task.
Our memories are actually reconstructed every time we think of them.
Try this task — Think back to a particular event that happened at least 5 years ago. Maybe it was a wedding, or a family gathering, or a dinner you went to with friends, or a vacation. Pick one for our purposes here, and remember the event. Remember the people, and where you were and maybe you can remember the weather, or what you were wearing.
Try this task — Think back to a particular event that happened at least 5 years ago. Maybe it was a wedding, or a family gathering, or a dinner you went to with friends, or a vacation. Pick one for our purposes here, and remember the event. Remember the people, and where you were and maybe you can remember the weather, or what you were wearing.
Memories as movies? — We tend to experience our memories of
events like this as little movie clips that play back in our minds. And because
we experience them this way we have a tendency to think that memories are
stored in entirety and never change. But that’s not what happens.
Memories are reconstructed — Our memories are actually
reconstructed every time we think of them. They aren’t movie clips that are
stored in the brain in a certain location like files on a hard drive. They are
nerve pathways that are firing anew each time we remember the event. This makes
for some interesting effects. For example, the memory can change.
Subsequent events can affect the memory – Other events that occur after the
original event can change the memory of the original event. At the original
event, you and your cousin were close friends. But later on you have an
argument and a falling-out that lasts for years. Your memory of the first event
might include your cousin being aloof and cold, even if that is not true. The
later experience has changed your memory.
Mixing events — It is easy to start mixing up memories. So that things that happened at two separate events become fused into one. Your cousin was pleasant at one event, and not pleasant at the other, but over time your memories about which is which can become confused.
Mixing events — It is easy to start mixing up memories. So that things that happened at two separate events become fused into one. Your cousin was pleasant at one event, and not pleasant at the other, but over time your memories about which is which can become confused.
Filling in of gaps – You will also start to fill in your
memory gaps with “made up” sequences of events, but these will seem as real to
you as the original event. You can’t remember who else was at the family
dinner, but Aunt Jolene is usually present at these events, and so over time
your memory of the event will include Aunt Jolene.
Eyewitness testimony – Elizabeth Loftus is one of the earliest
psychology researchers to study reconstructive memory. She was studying
eyewitness testimonies, and was especially interested in whether language can
affect memory.
Bumped, hit, or smashed – In her research Loftus would show a
video clip of an automobile accident. Then she would ask a series of questions
about the accident. She would change the way she worded the questions, for
example, sometimes she would phrase it as: “How fast would you estimate the car
was going when it hit the other vehicle”, or “How fast would you estimate the
car was going when it smashed the other vehicle.” And she would ask
participants in the study if they remembered seeing broken glass.
You can guess — When she used the word smashed the
estimated speed was higher than when she used the word hit. And more than twice
as many people remembered seeing broken glass if the word smashed was used
rather than the word hit.
So what’s the impact? — Since memories are reconstructed, here
are some things to keep in mind:
·
The words you use are
important. They can actually affect people’s memories.
·
You can’t rely on
self-reports of past behavior. People will not remember accurately what they or
others did or said.
·
Watch out for how and
what you say if you are interviewing people, for example, interviewing users
for a usability or user experience study. You can influence their responses with
the words you use.
·
Similarly, take what
users say later, when they are remembering using an interface, with a grain of
salt. It’s being reconstructed
And if you’d like to read some of Elizabeth
Loftus’ seminal work in the area:
Elizabeth F. Loftus and John C. Palmer,
Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction:
An Example of the
Interaction Between Language and Memory, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal
Behavior, 13, 585-589 (1974).
Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1377438
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