PSYCH 140M Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Helen Keller, Psych, Forgetting Curve
Document Summary
Remembering an experience involves reconstructing that experience. Reconstructions may be filled with errors when our assumptions and inferences are what determine our recollections (instead of actual memory traces from the event) Even when our memories are accurate, we have reconstructed that event (our memories don"t just play back like a video) Reconstructive memory the idea that retrieval of memories doesn"t occur in a completely accurate form (like a video replaying a scene), but involves a process of trying to reconstruct past events. Reconstruction of memories often driven by background knowledge that suggests plausible inferences these may lead us to believe we are remembering something when we"re not. A week later, tested for memory of passage. Before testing, some subjects told that the store was really about helen. Subjects told that story was about helen keller were much more likely to claim recognizing sentences like she was deaf, dumb, and blind when they actually hadn"t seen them.
