Given what you know about the reconstructive nature of long-term memory, the ability of the brain to reconsolidate new information into an old memory, and scripts, which memory would most likely be free from error and bias?
A. A memory of your first date with your future partner.
B. A memory of the last time you checked your e-mail.
C. An funny event from your childhood that you often talk about when you’re with your family.
D. A memory of the first college lecture you attended.
D. A memory of the first college lecture you attended.
People are consistently confused about the reconstructive nature of memory. The ability to recall a long-term memory is dependent upon the amount encoded of the original memory and the availability of details, schemas, and scripts from other memories. Reconstructive recall generally saves the individual plenty of neuronal space; however, reconstructing the memory each time a memory is recalled can lead to errors. Fortunately, there are some types of memories that appear to be less prone to reconstruction. Memories which are for first time and/or unique events have fewer scripts to rely on for reconstruction. Additionally, memories which are discussed/recalled infrequently will be recalled with less error. Each time a memory is recalled the context, emotion, and situation all leave their mark on the old memory are reconsolidated into the long-term memory. This means the more often a specific memory is recalled the more likely that memory is a reconstruction from the original memory and all subsequent recollections.
Addressing the Alternatives
a.) Hindsight bias can slip into any long-term memory, but recalling a memory which one may see as part of their life story or predictive of some future event will be more prone to the “knew it all along” effect.
b.) Memories for events which occur regularly (i.e. checking the mail, driving to school) are referred to as repisodes, or repeated episodes. Repisodes are the equivalent of scripts for everyday life and since the brain already has an established script for checking the mail it will be less likely to encode any specific details of the episode.
c.) Rehearsal of memories, especially memories with few or vague details, can lead to the misinformation effect. People are frequently unsure of specific details about early childhood memories and only need to hear grandmother or dad retell the story to reconstruct the story with new/incorrect details.
You might also like to view...
A newspaper headline reads, “Are intellectual pursuits the key to preventing Alzheimer’s disease?” The researchers scanned the brains of healthy seniors with no memory loss and asked the seniors to recall how much reading, writing, and game-playing they did in childhood. Those who reported doing daily brain activities from a young age had very low levels of amyloid plaques, which are
associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Which of the following best describes this study’s findings? a. Intellectual pursuits and presence of amyloid plaque are positively correlated. b. Amyloid plaques are the main cause of Alzheimer’s disease. c. Intellectual pursuits prevent Alzheimer’s disease. d. There is a negative correlation between intellectual pursuits and the presence of amyloid plaques.
Albert Ellis's goal in rational emotive behavior therapy is to
A. help clients repress negative emotion. B. teach clients more effective social skills. C. help clients get in touch with their true emotions. D. replace clients' irrational beliefs with rational ones.
Three-year-old Jerry knows that he is a separate person from others and that he can affect other people's behavior. Jerry has achieved
A) me-self. B) I-self. C) perspective taking. D) a positive emotion bias.
Which of the following causes genital warts?
A) Human papilloma virus B) Human immunodeficiency virus C) Human papistule virus D) Herpes virus