We think of our own experiences and memories as a very reliable source of Information, right?
"I've seen it with my own eyes" is one of the most convincing statements, and eye-witnesses play an important role in many trials.
But can you actually trust your memory? How do you know if something you think you saw actually happened in the exact same way?
This might sound like a strange theory at first, but countless studies have shown that our memories can actually be altered - and in many cases, people would swear to remember something that actually never happened!
We often think that our memories are set in stone - but actually, they can be altered all the time.
Some scientists even suggest tht we change old memories every time we recall them.
Memory is processed in many different areas of our brain, and there are also many different kinds of memory - procedural memory for example is learning a skill like walking, talking or riding a bike, and after a while you can do it so well that you don't even have to think about it anymore. These types of memories cannot be changed.
What we will refer to in this post is episodic memory - memories of events!
To show that these types of memories can't always be trusted, let's look at some interesting scientific studies. All of these were conducted by Elizabeth Loftus, the leading psychologic scientist in this field of "constructive memory":
1.)
In the first study, the subjects were shown videos of a simulated car crash, and after that they were intervirewed about the crash.
The scientists then used different words to interrogate the questions - for example, they asked one group how fast the cars were going if they "hit" each other, and they asked the other group how fast they were when they "smashed into" each other.
Interestingly, the words used in the question totally influenced the subject's perception of speed:
The group where the word "hit" was used answered with 34 mph, while the group that heard the question with "smashed" said the cars were going 41mph.
Also, some subjects from the last group reported seeing broken glass at the site of the accident, when there never was any.
2.)
For this study, subjects were shown an accident when a car crossed an intersection with a stop sign.
When the scientists later questioned the subjects about the video, and they mentioned a yield sign, the subjects suddenly remembered a yield sign being there at the intersetion - not a stop sign.
3.)
This is one of the most popular studies - the so-called "in the mall" study:
The scientists contacted test subject's family members and asked them about 3 events that happened in the subject's childhood - for example having a clown at a birthday party, going on a special family trip etc.
The scientists then interviewed the subjects about how well they remembered those events - but they added one fake story: they asked the subject something like "your mom told me you got lost in the mall one day as a toddler, was that a scary experience?" when in reality, this never actually happened to any of the subjects.
Surprisingly, 29% of them actually said that they remembered this event, and even included more details to the story.
Even the real events were only recalled 68% of the time, so the fake story was remembered nearly half as often as an actual memory! That's crazy!
Different other studies from all over the world have shown that if you plant childhood memories into people's minds, they started to believe them and even add more details to it.
And this was even true with traumatic experiences like nearly drowning, or being attacked by an animal - still, over half of the subjects believed that the fake memory was actually their own.
Now you might think that these were all not very stressful or important situations, and that our brains might function differently when it's a dangerous situation.
This has been tested as well:
A test for people in the military simulated a stressful situation that should teach them how being captured as a prisoner of war could be like.
They were interrogated for 30 minutes in a very aggressive way, even with some slight physical abuse, and in very stressful conditions.
Afterwards, they were asked to identify the interrogator.
When the scientists fed the subjects even the slightest suggestive information, they often said that a certain person was the interrogator, who didn't even look similar to the real one.
Do altered memories change your present and future?
The subjects of this study were implanted with the memory that they had gotten sick from a certain dish as a kid - this could be pickles, hard boiled eggs or even ice cream. The stories were totally imaginary!
When the scientists later tested the subjects at a picknick, they observed what the subjects chose to eat - and they were much less likely to pick a food from the negative imaginary memory.
And this worked the other way around as well: when the scientists had implanted them with a positive, happy memory about a healthy food like aspargus, it made the subjects want to eat asparagus more!
If you're interested in the topic, please watch this TED Talk from Dr. Loftus herself, where she explains her work and the studies again in detail:
Conclusion and Ethical Problems
So in conclusion, our memories are much less reliable than we think.
They can easily be altered if a person tells us a different story in a convincing way.
And in stressful situations, we can trust them even less!
This awareness brings some ethical questions with it -
Should we change the laws for eye-witnesses in trials? Should their testimony have less impact on the verdict?
And should we use this knowledge to our advantage? For example, implanting a happy memory about healthy foods and sports in an obese person? Or altering the memory of someone who suffers from anxiety, to make them less scared?
What's your opinion on this ethical dilemma?
© Sirwinchester
Thanks to your article I know more about how our brain deals with memories. Indeed understanding our brain has long been a hot topic in neuroscience. From a non technical point of view, I do think altering memories in some occasions is good to humans, if those memories can only cause sorrow and hard feelings.
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That is something else how human brains think something is worse off, just because of the word we use. That is why attorneys get paid the big bucks to word things in a certain ways to paint pictures......Nice post.
I can vouch for this, I remember having remembered having heard it once.
It is also said that the media alter public opinion by manipulating various things in our minds.
check this out
ohhk
I read that text but not sure I can believe the information, maybe after all my brain just fabricated that whole article, maybe even Steemit so that I can be on social media, think I can earn money posting and commenting, and not feel guilty.
I might still just be a caveman tricked by his brain into thinking he lives in a more evolved world in order to cope with the hardships of prehistoric life. Who knows.
It's crazy to think that something we rely on so heavily can be so unreliable!
That's why it is difficult to take "history" in its complete literal sense.
The world can only be perceived through our limited perception which is constantly changing due to inner and outer stimuli!
How I like to approach things, is by understanding that the past and our memories are only relative to our experience therefore little "truth" exists in what we remember.
Being in the present moment relinquishes most of the issue caused by relying too much on the past. It should only ever be used when it can be of aid in the present moment :)
So true
Intelligent and well put together article, keep them coming brother!! posts like these keep this platform rich!
Awesome bro... Thanks.
Try this game: Ask people these questions, in this order: "What's 1+1? What's 2+2? What's 4+4? What's 8+8?" Then ask them to name a vegetable. They almost always say carrot.
I didn't even know carrot is a vegetable
Wow super interesting stuff! I found the analogy to the Wikipedia page to be fascinating!
It's all in the mind.
This happens to me all of the time! I think I remembe saying something I didn't!
So you mean our own brain has the capacity to trick us?This is mind boggling.
I've had memories of events that did not even take place. The brain is super complex and interesting. A memory can feel so real and then you find out that it's false. That doesn't make you feel too good! lol
This articule is awesome. I couldnt imagine most of the content of the writeup as it just extraordinary. Life must be well guarded deligently. Kindly upvote & follow me @bewajijohnson
Just watch out for CIA mind control programs. MK ultra just disgusting.
http://listverse.com/2015/05/28/10-real-victims-of-the-cias-mkultra-program/
If i must say it is a bit scary. remind me a bit of the movie Total Recall.
Reminds me that you should be wary of other influence and your own. Acknowledging that you can be fooled and even then it can still happen. So maybe it the best to find a way to seek out facts and details.
Oh wow. This is crazy to read it from a scientific point of view, but I am pretty sure that it has happened to me too!
Like you mentioned aswell, that some memories combine so maybe there were two different things but the brain just groups it together as one.
Sometimes I even have it with dreams. Just tiny details which i could think of and then I am actually note sure if that scene actually happened or if I only dreamt it.
Thanks for posting, I enjoyed it. Cheers!
The human mind is fascinating and horrifying in this way. After reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck recently, it touched on how, after going to extensive therapy, a woman "recalled" that she was sexually abused by her father as a child. The news tore her entire family apart. Later, she discovered that the memory was fabricated based on the interactions between her and the well-intending therapist, yet it had a lasting impact on her life and the lives of her family members.
I've known myself to recall memories differently in my life, but it's fucking terrifying to think that something like that could happen. Makes you wonder...what is the purpose of a mental construct like this? Is it a coping mechanism? A flaw in our makeup? An adaptation? In any case... yikes! Can't trust anything—even our own minds!
This is such an interesting concept! This just shows how complex the brain is and how much we still don't know. Thanks for sharing :)
omg! how so true this is. your memory of something can be completely altered by others and what you thought you new as your own memories were actually almost like implanted there by some sort of programming...
bro this is badass, it took me some time to digest but it makes a lot of sense, of course it would, associations change and perspectives change, I have seen some people with anxiety especially change a memory from a good one to a bad one after the fact, I will keep an eye out for more like this, sweet posting style too, you might see me mimic a lot of this xD
sports in an obese person's mind, love the direction but i still think it is jumping the gun to not trust your own memories. Of course the clear factor here is memory over time, but even with that I'd say memories are still quite reliable. Some might say depending on the individual, I'd say each to our own. Very intriguing write up. Cheers!
the research brings up unexpected results and is certainly a big surprise- i am now following and upvoting
Very good article @ sirwinchester you make it look too easy! You are a wealth of health knowledge:) I have been writing in the health and science topic too. I don't know how many times I can compliment you, ha but your writing skills are impressive. Keep up the great work :)
The brain is a mistery...just as the universe itself... Very interesting post! :)
This was very interesting. I just love Tedtalks so I also watched Elizabeth's Tedtalk in full and it certainly got my gears turning. I was abused sexually as a child which luckily for me I had my father confess to people in the family and have emails from my mother proving the other events happened but it does make me wonder how many of the more detailed memories could be somewhat changed over time or due to the trauma.
I also feel there are certainly many ethical questions brought up by this knowledge. I personally would love to have some warm fuzzy memories implanted in me to help balance out the scary stuff but for clear reasons that is not allowed in therapy but also the eyewitness testimonies is really a thorny subject.
I will have to read more into this and continue thinking on it but thank you so much for the interesting, educational post. I also have been wanting to do more blogs focused on education and science and somehow didn't think to get inspiration from Tedtalks which I love to watch so thanks for that inspiration as well.
You content is always top notch. :)
Very interesting post, kinda like the Mandela or Bearstein Bears effect
A really good interesting post. All kinds of trickery with brain and memory. Will research some more into this.
Who is experienced in meditation here? Im curious on its potential to find true memories
beautiful mind
The Media is a biggest culprit these days
We are basically creating our reality all the time anew by slightly changing more and more details of the true events. As a memory coach I can confirm how easy it is to change and manipulate memory.
With memory techniques we manipulate in the right direction and are able to remember anything at will. For example the name of Tesla's CEO Elon Musk.
Learn more about memory techniques and follow @flauwy
Great read! It's like when we fix a jigsaw puzzle and force a the wrong piece into a spot just because we think it fits! :)) Our brain is so complex, yet so devious.
It really is an incredible work masterminded by the Creator. Yet there are so many ways in which we misuse this wonderful gift to trick and delude ourselves so easily. The older I get, the less I feel I can rely on my memory. Bits and pieces of my memory are fuzzy, and I know that pieces of information exist that have been forced in, that are actually inaccurate.
Time to eat more berries, omega-3 fish, and whole grains to support that failing memory!!
One reason why memory needs to be verified/confirmed. Some people would like to have memory implants, could make education a lot faster.
Sometimes it is easier to skew realty in your mind when a memory becomes to painful to handle. I know for a fact I have forced myself to remember a lot of my childhood in a different light than what actually took place. If I didn't do this, I would have probably ended it long ago. When it comes to identifying the perpetrator of a crime when you are the victim, sometimes people just pick the first face they see, because they want it to be over. Sadly this process just extends the pain and suffering to someone else In many cases.
I have a patient (schizophrenia) who is convince to be pregnant every 3-4 weeks. She absolutely forget ever talking about it. She's in menopause and the grief of never having another baby is so strong that she forgets that it's impossible since she has no relations either. The mind is incredibly manipulable. I'm trying to find a way to make her remember but she's very stubborn 😜
That's really disappointing that I even can't trust my own brain. :-/
Whoa! I don't trust my brain after reading this.
Indeed i believe that our thoughys can be manipulated, if necessary. Good post buddy.
Interesting read @sirwinchester
... always providing informative content.
... Following you and i hope you stay in touch
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Have a beautiful weekend
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Love this, as much as i'd like to say I remember everything and "I KNOW" what happened forever ago, its hard to really know that because our brain does reconstruct things in our brain after its been there for so long.
Neuroscience is one of the best industries to get into. The brain itself is one of the things we least know about. To think we cannot even trust our own memories shows you that you can shape your life with your thought. Great post keep it up.
@sirwinchester Memories that have strong emotions connected to them remains strong, that is what I think about memories. for example, we don't forget the first day of college or school and something that is very important in our life because we keep on sending the message to the brain about its importance. In between, we just skip all. It's like we need to tell our brain that Mr. brain this is important keep it in your memory, actually, it's an automatic process when we give full attention to anything it gets hard coded in our brain. so if you want to remember something then make your brain to understand that whatever you are doing is very important when the brain gets this, you will see the difference.