False memory syndrome
The term memory corruption or falsification of memory designated in memory research that accidental tampering of memory contents. A special form of falsification of memory are pseudo memories. They differ from the deliberate mis- statement ( lie) the fact that the person concerned himself holding his statement is right. Pseudo- memories were noisy Oscar B. Scholz " successfully talked, but did not experience events " or " successfully talked out, but actual events ". In the context of court proceedings, however, one must distinguish according to Scholz, that in the pseudo memory the " manipulation in temporally preceding the surveys ' successes, while the misinformation effect" the relevant details of the Tatgeschehens manipulated in the decisive conversation with the interviewee " will. The term " memory corruption " was introduced in 1886 by Emil Kraepelin. "From the falsification of memory - memory phantasm - ( a not -experienced is presented as experienced ) distinguish one ( with GE Müller 215 III S 320 ) the memory distortion: a -experienced event is disfigured in the memory."
- 3.1 False -memory phenomena
Notes
Since perception and memory processes are active processing, it can sometimes occur errors. While perceptual illusions have been studied and researched for quite some time, this was in false memories only since the 1960s, in a comparable form the case. Since then, it has been possible in experiments to distort by different methods the memories of subjects as regards serious details or to plant even pseudo- memories of new events into memory.
Falsification of memory may occur under stress or fatigue as a result of suggestion or hypnosis as well as spontaneously (without external influence ). The term is thus methodically delineated against pathological delusions, such as may occur as a symptom of some mental disorders. It is essential that the mental and emotional reproduction of the memory contents is seen as a reflection of a past, awake conscious action - unlike a memory of a dream, a vision or an active imagination: where the remembered subject is aware that his memory is no such external reality corresponds. Even in the case of incomplete, vague recollection of this incompleteness and imperfection Reminiscent realize.
Brain Physiological experiments (for example, face recognition ) have shown that memory contents to which a person remembers correctly, the involvement of unconscious mental processes to a decisive extent requires: Contrary to popular assumption may not be accurate reproducible memory contents before they are stored completely through the bottleneck of the run awareness, so they do not reach or only exceptionally fully to consciousness.
Experiments
Celebrity question
The celebrity question is an experiment in reference to a specific form of memory forgery, the so-called source confusion. In the first phase of the experiment, the subjects are casually presented several names that are to judge this example, according to enunciate. The next day, these names are presented together with new names and the names of famous people in a second phase. Now the subjects to decide which would be assigned this name famous people. Falsely names of the persons previously read on this day than chance often referred to as famous. Apparently, the subjects were not aware of whether they knew these names from newspaper and television or from the first phase of the experiment. Unconscious processes lead to a confusion of the source of information.
An experiment with respect to pseudo- memories is Lost in the mall ( German Lost in the mall ). The subjects were given short reports on experiences in childhood that were supposedly written by relatives. You should remember back to this, but she did not know that one of these narratives was wrong: The respective subject is being lost in the ages of 5 and 6 years in the shopping center and have been rescued by an adult. 6 of 24 subjects claimed to be able to remember, even though this event had never taken place.
Bugs Bunny in Disneyland
Elizabeth Loftus constructed an experiment in which participants who were in their past in Disneyland, a meeting with the character Bugs Bunny was talking about. This could then vividly remember the scene. May be apparent that this meeting never happened, due to the fact that the character belongs to Warner Brothers and so to speak, has strict ban at Disneyland.
Related terms
False -memory phenomena
Through the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, the term false memory was introduced for the phenomena of falsification of memory from the year 1996 in the American public. Later this term has been adopted by the scientific literature and replaced the existing concept of memory errors. Critics are of the opinion that the polemical public relations of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation would have led to many misunderstandings in relation to this concept and this should therefore be avoided.
Importance
The falsification of memory plays a role only in exceptional cases, as the human mind reflects important events in general, with sufficient accuracy. However, non- durable is the widespread opinion that their own memories would have to photographically match exactly with the former reality. In memory research, it is undisputed that memories are not objective reproductions.