BETA
Chapter 1
How the brain builds memories
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Answer
Chapter 2
The tricks our minds play
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Answer
Chapter 3
When false memories feel real
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Chapter 4
The high stakes of memory errors
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YOUR GOAL
Master of The illusion of memory
Ch 3 · When false memories feel real
renaissanceman Memory Reconsolidation
Pull it up, rewrite it, lock it back down!
renaissanceman Functional brain scans show that true and false memories look nearly identical in active brains.
renaissanceman Showing people doctored photos can make them remember events that never happened.
Fun Fact
Balloon ride: In a 2002 study, 50% of people shown a fake photo of themselves in a hot air balloon recalled the event in detail.
Glossary
misinformation effect (noun)
The tendency for post-event information to interfere with and alter the memory of an original event. In 1974, Elizabeth Loftus demonstrated this by altering eyewitness car crash speed estimates with a single verb.
The tendency for post-event information to interfere with and alter the memory of an original event. In 1974, Elizabeth Loftus demonstrated this by altering eyewitness car crash speed estimates with a single verb.
Quiz
What is the scientific term for when repeatedly visualizing an action makes you believe you actually did it?
Quiz
What is the term for mixing up the source of a memory, such as confusing a dream with a real event?
Quiz
What famous memory implantation study was conducted by Elizabeth Loftus and Jacqueline Pickrell in 1995?
Quiz
What percentage of participants in the 1995 'lost in the mall' study believed the fake memory?
Quiz
Which of the following is a common way false memories are accidentally created in therapy?
Quiz
Why are children more vulnerable to false memory implantation than healthy adults?
Quiz
In a 2002 New Zealand study, what doctored image was used to implant false memories?
Quiz
What do fMRI brain scans reveal about the difference between true and false memories?