In 200-225 words, please respond to the following discussion using the attached article. Please be sure to cite:
Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus researched how subsequent information affects an eyewitness account of an event. The focus has been on the influence of information that has been misleading in terms of visual imagery and wording of questions in relation to eyewitnesses. It is thought that the theory could be thought of as if someone was exposed to new information during the interval between witnessing the event and recalling it, this new information may have marked the effects on what the eyewitness recall.
Research has discovered that “people can be led to remember their past in different ways, and they can be led to remember entire events that never actually happened to them” (Loftus, & Pickrell, 1995). When certain types of distortions occur, we as individuals are sometimes confident in their distorted or false memories. Without corroboration, it is very difficult to differentiate between false memories and true ones. A growing number of investigators have determined through studies that under the true circumstances false memories can be installed rather easily in many individuals. A commonly known experiment conducted by Elizabeth Loftus is the lost in the mall study. With this study children were asked to recall a time when they were lost in a mall. The children that participated were able to recreate a vibrant clear memory of this time. The problem is this case never happened.
This research was conducted to show that the brain will attempt to fill in gaps for information that is missing. Repression is one of the most haunting concepts in psychology. Something shocking may happen, and the mind pushes the experience into some inaccessible corner of the unconscious, later, the memory may rise up and emerge into consciousness” (Loftus, 1993). Repression is one of the major foundation stones in studies involving psychology.
0 comments