Re-Post: Remembering Events That Never Took Place
Throughout summer 2024, we’re reposting previous blogs that showcase the range of topics in psychology. We’ll return to posting new content at the end of August, 2024.
By Brielle Meade
By Jose Navarro - https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonavi/
Have you ever remembered an event that never took place? Well, if that is the case you are not alone; this is a very common phenomenon. Growing up, my favorite type of shows to watch on television were always crime shows and shows involving the courtroom such as Judge Judy. I was interested in the human memory and wondered how so much of the legal prosecutions involved eyewitness testimony. This sparked many questions about human memory and how it can be relied on. Can the human memory ever be perfect and complete? Is it ethically acceptable to use eyewitness’ memories as the sole reason to convict someone of a crime?
Remembering an event that didn’t take place is something that happens more frequently than most people even realize. There are many different factors that can contribute to false memories. Most of the time eyewitnesses believe that what they remember is complete and accurate. Psychologist Faith Brynie (2013) describes memory as emotional impressions, which are changed and clouded by personal beliefs, thoughts, and opinions. This helps show that there are a multitude of reasons why human memory is not a reliable source of information, like many people had previously suspected it to be.
Now, how can false memories that never even took place be “remembered”? Julia Shaw (2017) discusses this question in her book The Memory Illusion: Remembering, Forgetting, and the Science of False Memory. She talks about how memories of events that didn’t even take place are extremely vivid, including very specific details of things such as colors, sounds, and scents. This is an extremely interesting phenomenon, which is difficult for most to wrap their heads around. One of the main reasons that this takes place is simply from hearing someone talk about a memory or situation over and over again so many times that you can believe that you lived the event as well.
Sometimes people remember events that never took place because they imagined these events. Brynie (2013) explains that the way the human brain is activated when we see an object and the way they brain responds when we imagine it have similarities in that the same parts of the brain are being used. This is another major factor in false memory.
Next time you rely on your own memories of things and events to make a decision. keep in mind that memories can be biased or altered, and may not even be real. Don’t solely rely on yourself, memory is an ever-changing and complex process that can never be 100% accurate.
Resources
Brynie, F. Remembering Something That Never Happened. Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 26 July 2013,
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-sense/201307/remembering-something-never-happened?amp .
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-false-memory-2795193
Shaw, J. (2017). The Memory Illusion: Remembering, Forgetting, and the Science of False Memory. Random House.