The concept that caught my attention in chapter 4 was the direct
experience and false memories section. The reason it was interesting to me was
because it explains how are minds altars our memories. It is said, “our
memories are not stable.” Our memories usually become inaccurate or false. A
lot of people tend to get false memory syndrome, which is when you recall
events that never happened. The way you speak can alter someone’s memory. The way
you ask a question can determine the way it will be answered. The wording plays
a major part in a question to how the person will answer. Most people do not
realize they are altering their memory because they just answer by what sounds
right to them. An example of a question would be: How many people jumped the
girl? And how many people did she fight? When asking these questions if you use
the word jumped someone is guaranteed to have false memories on how many people
really did fight.
It’s really kind of scary how we alter our memories so much. It’s not that everyone is a liar, but you should really think about the context of the recollection. You should think about how the question was phrased and if the person responding might, subconsciously, be changing what their interpretation of the event was. I also really liked the quote, “our memories are unstable.” It makes me think of a chemical being unstable and a really dangerous situation. I think it’s funny how people make up memories of events that never happened but at the same time it is scary. This can cause arguments and problems when people argue about events.
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