Recently, I learned that memory is way more complex than it seems to be. I was never aware that we constructed memories, I thought that we just remember whatever we experience in life. Our brains are wired to make sure everything we process is coherent and makes sense to us, so we fill in the missing pieces of information. We gain these missing pieces from our environment with things people say, such as the stories people tell us, how a question is worded, or pictures of the event. However, this means that the memories that our brain constructs are not always what reality is since our memory is due to change when new pieces of the puzzle are presented. The memories in our head are so convincing that it’s hard to determine whether they are real or made up. In fact, this happens so often, there are many studies done on it that show evidence that memory is constructed. A famous study done by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus showed that when we are given information that is misleading, our brain will take it and run with it. In her experiment, she showed participants clips of a car crash. After, participants would be asked how fast the car was going that crashed into the other car. However, participants would be asked slightly different questions. One out of these three questions were asked, “How fast was the car going when it collided into the other car?”, “How fast was the car going when it hit into the other car?”, or, “How fast was the car going when it smashed into the other car?” The results showed that when people were asked, “How fast was the car going when it smashed into the other car?”, they reported the car going faster speeds. The participants would also recall details of the crash that weren’t real. This experiment shows that memory is constructed on what information the brain gathers and memories are not as reliable as we think they are.
In my personal life, there was a very significant moment that made me think about the reliability of our memories. One day, I was sitting at home doing homework, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the words, “I love you” carved into the corner of my desk. Immediately, I start to panic because I don’t recall carving anything onto my desk, and it is slightly creepy to think someone snuck in my bedroom to do that. Then, a few days later, I’m looking at the carving again and I recall a memory where I used a box cutter to etch out those words on my desk, and at that point I brush the whole thing off and I don’t think anything of it because my mind has rationalized that I did it and no one went into my room. Then, about a week goes by and my cousin is over and she asks me, “Did you see what I carved into your desk?” and I’m immediately confused. Eventually, I put the pieces together and realized she’s the one who did it. I totally freak out and question how I even recalled myself doing something like that and the best part is, I didn’t even own a box cutter. I think my mind was making a memory to calm myself down. My cousin and I laughed it off later and all was well. I think it’s so unique how our brain works this way.
Elizabeth Loftus and The Misinformation Effect , YouTube, 27 Mar. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3QZ8b_RhI. Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.