Memory Exercise

Two Fridays ago, an odd event occurred in lecture which we asked you to describe in detail. Last Friday, we asked you to reproduce your description word for word.

As you might guess, a lot of detail was lost in one week. The second descriptions are in general much shorter than the first ones.

Individual students also CHANGED their descriptions:

growing: 5'3" -> 5'5", 5'6" -> 5'8", 5'9" -> 6'0"; shrinking: 5'4" -> 5'0".
heavier: 110 lbs -> 130 lbs, 120 lbs -> 135 lbs, 140 lbs -> 160 lbs; lighter: 150 lbs -> 130 lbs
gender: female -> man, person -> man, female -> person.
no action -> "grabbed a book and left".
blue stripes appear on the blanket/towel.
a wig appears.

Five (5) students mentioned a clock hanging around the neck in their second descriptions even though noone mentioned one in their first descriptions.

THIS DID NOT EXIST! YOUR PROFESSORS PLANTED THIS IDEA IN YOUR MEMORIES!

Your memory is not like a video tape that you can rewind and watch over and over. Every time that you retrieve a memory, you alter it, you construct new details and omit old ones.

Now that you have experienced first-hand the problems with remembering after only one week, you can appreciate the problems with memories of Roswell AFTER 30 YEARS!

If you are interested in false memories, research the name Elizabeth Loftus. This topic is connected with "recovered" memories of childhood sexual abuse, satanic rituals, and UFO abductions.