How Accurate Are Our Memories?

Memories of life's moments shape the way people view themselves and the world around them. The ability to recollect life's memories gives people a sense of continuity. Interestingly, most people vary in the accuracy of their memories. People tend to revise their memories to fit their own current perspective of themselves, causing them to embellish details that no longer befit them. There are also other cognitive principles that influence the accuracy of a person's memory. These principles include constructive processes and schemas, and decay and interference. The emotional significance of the event also affects the accuracy to which a person recalls the memory.

Sir Frederic Bartlett developed the idea that memory is based on constructive processes-the process in which memories are influenced by the meaning we give to events (Feldman, 2005). For example, if a father were to recall the birth of his first son, then the memory that he recalls is not just affected by that event but also by his own interpretation of the event. Bartlett also believed that people organize their memories into schemas-organized information stored in memory that bias the way a person interprets, stores, and recalls new information (Feldman, 2005). These biases are formed via a person's life influences and experiences. Though some people hate to admit it, everyone possesses bias at their core. Unfortunately, these biases can affect the accuracy with which we recall memories. When a person recalls memories of their own past, they can often remember selfish and hateful acts done by others, and easily forget negative and abusive acts that they may have committed themselves. For example, a person may remember a friend in class that abused animals while walking home from school frequently. That same person may have trouble recalling that they helped their friend catch the animals on many occasions.

Sometimes people become forgetful as a result of diseases that affect memory, such as Alzheimer's disease. Even those who do not have a disease that causes memory loss are forgetful at times, though. Some psychologists believe that decay helps to explain this phenomenon. Decay is the loss of information in memory due to its non-use (Feldman, 2005). According to this theory, memories decay just because of the passing of time. Information can also be forgotten due to interference (information in memory that disrupts the recall of other information) (Feldman, 2005). In the process of interference new memories are replaced by old memories. Both decay and interference are cognitive principles that interrupt the recall of autobiographical memories without a person's knowledge. These principles affect the accuracy of memory recollection.

The emotional state of a person as the event occurs can also affect the accuracy of the recollection. Interestingly, the emotional state of the person as he/she recalls the event may affect accuracy as well. The Schachter Singer theory of emotion states that people identify emotion that they are experiencing by observing their environment and comparing themselves to others (Feldman, 2005). A person's emotional state is subject to change at any time. If a person was happy when the event occurred, they can be sad while they are remembering the event and leave out exciting details. The person can also add negative information because of their now 'sad' state of mind. For example, a prom night that was once remembered as fun and full of happy party-goers can be remembered as an okay night because of a fight with a best friend.

In closing, autobiographical memories help to shape the way people view themselves and their environment. Sometimes people can be inaccurate in their recalling of memories due to cognitive principles such as constructive processes and schemas, and decay and interference. Emotional significance of the event also affects the accuracy to which a person recalls the memory. Whether accurate or not, memories are real to those that recall them.

References:

Feldman, J. (2005). Understanding Psychology. Boston: McGrall Hill.