Cognitive Psychology, 2 nd Ed.

1. Cognitive Psychology, 2nd Ed. Chapter 7

2. Reconstructive Retrieval • Refers to schema-guided construction of episodic memories that alter and distort encoded memory representations. • Reconstruction levels by losing details, assimilates by normalizing to fit expectations, and sharpens by embellishing details.

8. Encoding Distortions • Selection: Selective encoding of information that fits with prior knowledge. • Interpretation: Inferences and suppositions are made to conform new material to activated schemas. • Integration: Combining features of different events into a unified memory representation.

13. Source Monitoring • Source monitoring refers to evaluative processes that attribute mental experiences to either external (perceived) or internal (thought, imagined, or dreamed) sources. • Discriminating internal from external sources is essential to avoid false memories of events.

15. False Memories • Verbal false memories occur when a list of semantically related words are perceived. A high associate of these words is often falsely remembered. • Conjunction errors occur when part of a word is falsely linked to a part of another word. • Confabulation involves a false narrative account of autobiographical events and is seen in severe pathological states of confusion.

16. Eyewitness Testimony • How is the recall of an eyewitness affected by reconstructive retrieval processes? Even when witnesses are confident of the accuracy of their testimony, false recall can cause distortions. • Approximately 8,500 wrongful convictions in the U.S. alone, with as many as half caused by incorrect eyewitness testimony.

17. Causes of False Testimony • Selective encoding due to perceptual factors (poor visibility, rapid and unexpected events). • Peripheral details, but not central features, are lost are under emotional duress.

18. Causes of False Testimony • Misinformation in the form of questions asked of an eyewitness after an event can distort its recognition and recall. When questioned after a traffic accident, the verb used to describe the collision(contacted, hit, bumped, collided, smashed) determined speed estimates. • Misinformation effects can be large. Poorly encoded details (e.g., was a stop sign or a yield sign?) are falsely recognized 80% of the time two weeks after receiving misleading information.

20. Causes of False Testimony • Memory implantation refers to the creation of a false memory through direct suggestion. • Preschool aged children are more susceptible than older children and adults. Debate centers on whether only unimportant details are implanted or important events with possible clinical implications. • Delusional false memories reflect socio-cultural implantation. Beliefs create an illusion of an event having actually occurred.

21. Alternative Explanations of Recovered Memories • Repression: a defense mechanism that operates unconsciously to prevent conscious recollection of disturbing events. • Trauma-induced amnesia: a dissociation of consciousness during the experience that produces selective encoding. • False recollection: Through misinformation, implantation, or confabulation the recovered memory never really happened.

22. Causes of False Testimony • Faces are encoded by a specialized module and well retained across decades. • However, attending to a weapon instead can cause errors due to selective encoding. • Lineups must include lures similar to the target to avoid false recognition. Sequential rather than simultaneous lineups also reduce false recognition. • Face identification is poorest across racial and ethnic categories.