The Effects of Emotions on Memory and Forgetfulness Essay

Throughout our lives, we definitely have gone through a lot of experiences and made memories. Some of the memories are easily forgotten, while some others are remembered distinctively, vividly and can be recollected confidently. This is called the flashbulb memory. Flashbulb memory is like a very clear picture of a particularly impactful event which had caused one to be affected emotionally. For example, I remember this performance that my school choir was performing. It was during Christmas season and we decided to spray bubble foam to portray fake snow. However, the plan backfired when the wind blew at our direction and all the foam flew back to us. This was remembered very clearly because I was embarrassed and had experienced something so

74. Raymond remembers, “When I was a sophomore, I took the hardest physics test of my life, and I was happy with my C.” This memory represents a(n)

Memory is a set of cognitive processes that allow us to remember past information (retrospective memory) and future obligations (prospective memory) so we can navigate our lives. The strength of our memory can be influenced by the connections we make through different cognitive faculties as well as by the amount of time we spend devoting to learning specific material across different points in time. New memories are created every time we remember specific event, which results in retrospective memories changing over time. Memory recall can be affected retrospectively such as seeing increased recall in the presence of contextual cues or false recall of information following leading questions. Memory also includes the process

A flashbulb memory is a detailed snapshot of an event which evoked feelings of shock or surprise or were otherwise emotionally arousing (Brown and Kulik, 1977). Events which have negative emotions attached to them seem to be processed in a detail-attentive and conservative manner (Bless et al., 1996; Storbeck & Clore, 2005; Bohn and Bernsten, 2007). The age of a witness also seems to influence the formation of flashbulb memories. In a study by Cohen, Conway and Maylor (1993) most of the younger participants experienced flashbulb memory compared to less than half the older participants. They concluded that the main factor which influenced the formation of flashbulb memories for older participants was rehearsal of the events whereas in younger

False memories have been studied science the early 1990’s because they have become controversial topic. In the beginning they was no thought that your memory would be unfaithful and that if you had a memory that you “recovered” it had to be true because your memory couldn’t fail you. Could it? Well one woman’s disbelief caused her, Susan Clancy, who was a Harvard University graduate student at the time decided that while everyone else was arguing over the accuracy of recovered memories, she would create a study on them (Grierson 1). Clancy first started out by interviewing her subjects that said to have recovered memories of abuse after they had gone through therapy. The stories were horrifying but she was brought up to believe that what they were telling her was true. But, soon after she found herself wondering if they had even really went through these events that they “recovered”. When she spoke out against the recovered memory patients saying that they couldn’t of forgotten such a traumatic memory and that they had created a false memory by going to the therapy the hate mail started coming in (Grierson 3). Throughout this time many other scientists started to do more and more research on false memories and most of the studies have concluded with the same information. “The false memory researchers point to other research showing that traumatic events are normally remembered all too well. They argue that

Based on those experiments, Loftus affirms the inaccuracy of our memory, events may be reconstructed with new information added. Applying those results into criminal investigations based on eyewitness, Loftus pointed out that witness is questioned often more than once. Also, studies have demonstrated that line-up might be a inefficient way of point a suspect since many faces are introduced to the witness. In addition to eyewitness testimony, Loftus is leading also in repressed childhood memory. Most of her experiments demonstrated that repressed childhood memories do not exist. In fact, the most traumatic memories that we experience are the ones that we tend to not forget

The memories were contradicted based on solid evidence such as DNA and alibis. Professor Loftus set out to prove the unreliability of supposed repressed memories. Methods Professor Loftus selected 24 mentally healthy college students. With the help of the participants' families, Professor Loftus was able to make a packet with three true memories and one false.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec once said “You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories.” Stanislaw Jerzy Lec’s quote relates to the theme of the importance of memory by saying that reality can fade away however memory will always stay in your heart no matter what. Scrooge knows this however doesn’t see it until the Ghost of Christmas Past shows him his past memories of Christmas. For example, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows his first Christmas all alone in his old school’s room as a child. As well as when Scrooge is shown his past Christmas with his family for the first time since his father had changed. Lastly when he enjoys his Christmas with his friends from his work with their annual Christmas party and has a wonderful time. “The Christmas Carol” displays the importance of memory.

I believe the burden of proof as to whether the memories are real or not, is if there is any evidence. Sometimes the evidence can be as simple as when a little girl remembers an old man, with long grey hair and a beard, hanging out with her uncle while her uncle was busy injecting intravenous drugs into his arm in front of her…and the whole family later confirms that the old man was a well-known child molester. To say that her memories are any less valid, because she

False memories are often an issue that comes up in the courts, when a witness testifies. Loftus conducted a study on members of the military. These members were being trained in handling interrogations in the event that they were captured by the enemy. They underwent a very stressful physical interrogation.

There are multiple reasons believed to cause repressed memories. A very publicized one is sexual assault. Many victims of this awful crime fail to recall what happened to them, some for a decade or two, but then can recall, sometimes in vivid detail, what happened to them.

Lightbulb memories are vivid long-lasting memories of a personal circumstance when that person learns of a shocking event. The causes of these vivid memories are most due to intense emotions felt when they heard the news, and the fact that lightbulb memories are often told and retold. However, lightbulb memories do become more and more inaccurate with time. People add or remove information to their story without even realizing it. When listening to someone talk about their 9/11 experience, it is almost impossible not to notice the amount of detail. People could recall exactly where they were, even what they eat for breakfast (a task many people find difficult even if only asked what they ate for breakfast

As mentioned earlier, for example, the images of the second plane flying into the building will surely stay with me; however, smaller details of the incident, which have become generalized over the years, are not nearly as clear or in order like they were on the day they happened. This is not at all surprising, since according to Perina (2002), flashbulb memories “do, in fact, degrade over a short period of time” (para. 1). The extent to which these events fade or change in our thoughts can vary in degree, and is generally believed to be directly proportionate to a person’s level of involvement in the events that occurred.

There are two prominent distortions of the episodic memory system: forgetting and the false memory effect. False memory is the propensity to report an event as part of an episodic experience that was not actually present (Holliday, Brainerd, & Reyna, 2011). Several theories give an explanation for this effect, but the most prominent one is the fuzzy trace theory,

Specific purpose: to increase my audience's understanding of how memory functions and how it affects them.