False Memory: Effects of False Memories on Human Behavior

False Memory
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October 20, 2017
Introduction
One of the most studied topics in the field of psychology is False Memory. In general, false memories are recollections of past events and circumstances in which the individual believes that it happened even in reality it didn’t. According to Cherry (2017), it is important to understand False memories because our perception of events which didn’t even happen in the first place could entail an adverse and an even life-changing effects in our real lives. While these changes could range from a simple alteration of daily routine, some of them could even lead to fatal and disastrous repercussions especially when unchecked and incorrected. Following from this, the author of this article believes that it is indeed important to understand the nature and the effects of false memories on our perspective of reality as well as our daily lives. Thus, in suceeding sections, some of these effects would be discussed in more detail. And by the end of this article, the author believes that the reason why False Memories could entail significant changes in our lives, is because memories shape our perception of reality and also the way how we deal with it.
Effects of False Memories on Human Behavior
In the article written by Loftus and Palmer (1974), they discussed how questions asked about a particular event that has happened could affect our memory’s reconstruction of reality. More particularly, they studied a human’s perception of the events based on the types of specific details required in answering a question about the past, and how close it is to the real life situation. What they found out was that very detailed questions could trick our brains of adding details which are not there in the first place to our own recollection of what happened before. However, while this example only shows the effects of questions on our own receollection of reality, other articles discussed how do these affect ourselves in a much deeper level. In an article written by Bernstein, Laney, Morris, and Loftus (2005), the authors have discussed how does false memories affect food consumption behavior and even food preferences. This study also utilized an approach which is “suggestive”, like the one done by Loftus and Palmer (1974), but in a more direct way. What the authors did was that they suggested to some participants that they had an instance during their childhood when they got sick by eating “hard-boiled eggs” or “dill pickles”. Surprisingly, they found out that those who have received the suggestion that they got si...