Have you ever thought back on something in your life and realized that what you are convinced you remember may have been a bit different than you believe? Or not even true at all? This is known as False Memory syndrome, and it’s a lot more common then you might think. Anything can influence your memory, from looking at old pictures, home movies, stories you hear from multiple sources, sometimes dreams can even influence what you think that you remember. In my own life I have noticed this happening to myself before.
In my family, taking home videos was overused. We have an entire box just filled with home movies from vacations, to trips to the park, going to the beach, just us kids doing stupid things, etc. So growing up it was entertaining for us to see ourselves when we were younger and the dumb things we said and did. But because of these home movies now when I try and think back on those memories I see them instead of from my point of view, I see it from the camera’s point of view and what that showed. So now I feel like I remember those memories but really I just remember watching the video of that experience.
Now another example of this is when you may have entirely fabricated memories out of thin air. Maybe you had a dream and now you’re not sure if it actually happened or not, or you heard a story about someone else and thought it was you. For example, I have a vivid memory of going to the Bug Museum in Philadelphia for a class trip in 1st grade. I remember wearing a lady bug dress, I remember looking at all the cool bugs, and I remember volunteering to “eat” a bug and that it tasted like BBQ chips. Now, even though I have this memory of this happening and can remember all the details of it, I am still not 100% sure of this actually happening. Because when I told my parents that this happened, they looked at me like I was crazy and told me that that literally never happened.
So this is where the phenomenon of false memories fits in, did it actually happen or was it just something I thought I remembered. That is what makes it so interesting because everyone has this happen to them at some point in their life. TIME magazine posted an article about false memories saying, “What’s long been a puzzle to memory scientists is whether some people may be more susceptible to false memories than others — and, by extension, whether some people with exceptionally good memories may be immune to them. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences answers both questions with a decisive no. False memories afflict everyone — even people with the best memories of all” With that being said, you shouldn’t feel like there is something wrong with you or that there’s something wrong with your brain if this happens to you often. They are still doing studies to find out why this happens but all it’s showing is how common it is and that it afflicts everyone. False memory or not I will always believe that I went to that Bug Museum in 1st grade.
Thean, Tara. “Remember That? No You Don’t. Study Shows False Memories Afflict Us All.” TIME. 19 NOV 2013: n. page. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. <http://science.time.com/2013/11/19/remember-that-no-you-dont-study-shows-false-memories-afflict-us-all/>.
I found this very interesting because the same phenomenon happened to myself and my family. My dad was an avid videographer when my sister and I were younger, so we have a plethora of home movies. I first watched them when I was around 10, and remembered them a certain way. Then, when I watched them again at around 13 and again around 16, I kept seeing them differently than how I had remembered. I think it was the mixture of stories I had been told and the actual footage that kept throwing off my memories. Also like you said, I had stories in my head that didn’t even happen, like events at the pool or the playground, that my parents told me never even happened. I guess I just had an active imagination!
Just as you experienced false memories from old home videos, I experience false memories from pictures and stories that I have been told from my parents. After awhile of hearing stories and seeing images of myself, I feel as if I remember exact memories. However, I have to remind myself that I only feel as if I remember doing these certain things. Some events I feel like I have direct memories from, but I now know that I was too young to retain these memories and simply “relive” it because of the samy story told over and over. For example, my parents always tell the story of me singing Big Poppa by Notorious B.I.G. when I was only four years old. They have told me specific stories of me singing it. I feel as if I remember actually singing it, but I only actually feel like that because of the stories being told. Sometimes, like you said, our brain cannot distinguish between memories we actually remember and memories that are sort of implanted from stories and feel real. Another false memory that I often have is another story that was told to me by my parents. I was about six years old and we would go to this local Italian restaurant, and I would only order a big bowl of tomatoes with ranch dressing. Being six, I could possibly remember the actual memory. However, when I think of the actual memory, I do not physically remember ordering that. In my memory I feel like I do, but only because I have been told the story numerous times. It is funny how the brain can trick you into thinking different things and creating false memories.
This happens to me all the time! I always seem to remember things that no one else has any idea what I’m talking about. I for some reason always invent false memories of my own making and to this day I am convinced that I am right and everyone else just has forgotten the event of the past. Also I really enjoy being a little evil and giving some of my younger cousins false memories. My sister and I are the oldest of 12 cousins on my dads side of the family so there are always a lot of little kids running around and once I went to one of my little cousins and said “Remember when you were two and you jumped on the table and did the chicken dance at Christmas dinner?” He was so confused but it turned into a running joke and all of the family went along with it for a while so he went around thinking that he had in fact jump up on the Christmas dinner table and danced. False memories can be a strong thing sometimes I don’t think he’s quite sure whether he actually id it or not.
I find this very interesting because I have a similar kind of occurrence as a youngster. I was at the art museum and I remembered sneaking into a room and getting yelled at for being somewhere I should not have been. I only know it was not real because I was at the Philadelphia Art Museum for the first time in my life a few months ago. I think it is so cool that you seem to remember what a bug tasted like. I personally have no recollection of taste when I recall my dreams so the fact that you remember the bugs tasting like BBQ chips is awesome.
Similar to your experience with recalling memories from the point of view of the camera, I recall several memories from my family’s point of view. I have several memories that I remember vaguely, but over the years my aunts and uncles have described the events in greater detail to me. As a result, I remember the events more vividly, but, because most of the details are from my family’s perspective, I start to picture it as they witnessed it. Sometimes the things my family has said have not lined up with what I remember, so I have to determine which of us recalls it correctly. This brings about the possibility of creating false memories.
It’s very strange to think that memories we are so sure about may not even be true. I have a similar memory from my childhood. I can vividly remember going to Disney World with my family and going on the Rockin’ Rollercoaster with my brother. I can even remember waiting in line. However, I was probably too young to actually remember the ride and the trip itself. It sort of makes me believe that much of the vacation is fabricated in my memory.
The whole idea of false memories is kind of scary. With the power of suggestion, we may come to believe something wholeheartedly without it ever being true and not even be aware of its falsehood. I would like to think that I can remember many things without making too many errors, but I know that in actuality I probably make up many of my memories and don’t even realize.
My dad is a professional photographer and basically always has a camera with him. He loves to take pictures of anything and everything. Sometimes its really cool because he was always at my lacrosse and football games getting cool “action” shots of the games, but usually it was just annoying. We would have to stop every two seconds to take a picture of something we don’t care about. The only good thing was that it helped us document me and my sisters childhood. We go through them every once and awhile nd reminisce about what we see. Now that I know that i probably don’t remember any of the things in the photo, rather I remember the story I was told, I’m even more annoyed with my dad taking pictures! I distinctly “remember” this one time that I fell asleep in the car on our way home. WHen we got home my mom left me in the car to sleep. Of course my dad thought I looked funny and took a picture. I remember waking up and seeing that there was no one in the car with me, i started balling my eyes out and screaming at the top of my lungs. I remember seeing my mom in the living room through the window. Now that i look back i think I remember my mom telling me about the whole ordeal, and defending herself. “I didn’t want to wake up sleeping beauty up! Plus i w=could see you through the window from the living room.” Is it possible this is why I remember seeing her in the living room? I guess i will never know for sure.
I have the exact same tradition in my family with the home videos. We always have some sort of camera around for special events. The most memorable of these events is always Christmas day! All these years I thought I remembered ripping open certain gifts from when I was just a little kid, but now that I think about it, it could just be the home videos that I have watched countless times that have created a false memory for me. It’s crazy how there is no way to actually tell if these memories are real or not. It would be interesting if these studies that you mentioned actually came up with a method actually found out why this false memory phenomenon happens! All the examples that you used in your post and the excerpt from Time magazine made your topic very clear, thank you!
It’s crazy how many of us have these false memories. It makes sense though when talking to friends and we all recall something different about an event or something and theres always that one friend who just straight says, “dude that never happened” and you find yourselves arguing over memories. I find myself always telling my mother about memories I had of her disciplining me or the strict rules she set and the silly things I would get in trouble for and she swears that none of it ever happened but it feels beyond real to me. It makes me wonder if I’m the one with the false memories or if it is her who doesn’t remember or has changed the events in her mind. Either way, this whole phenomenon of “false memories” or “implanting memories” is a mind f*@$ and a half because it makes me and I’m sure a lot of other people question our sanity, our truths. If the most vivid of memories came from our imagination then where are the real ones?
False memories are very interesting! I also have some vivid memories from my younger childhood days, but I can never be too sure they actually happened. For instance, my mother always tells a story about how my brother and I tried to trick my mother into thinking we fell down the laundry shoot and broke out legs. She talks about how scared she was. I have a faint memory of yelling down the laundry shoot to my brother, but otherwise I can’t remember anything. I think it’s really possible that I don’t really “remember” this event at all and it was just planted in my head by my mother. The structure of memory is pretty intriguing. Theoretically we can have a false memory planted and it can keep growing each time as new information is placed. It’d be interesting to figure out how far a false memory can go, too what extent can the information be bended?
False memories are intriguing, even the things you’re positive happened may not have really happened. (Probably because most false memories are of plausible events).
Great post!
This was really interesting! I remember a memory I had – I was really little, about 3 or 4, and had gotten a bead stuck in my ear, because I was trying to pretend it was an “earring” and be pretty. However, this memory is linked to a memory of me being in the hospital and “trying” to get the bead out of my ear. But when I talked to my parents about this memory, they said I had never went to the hospital and my mother had been able to get the bead out of my ear. This makes me wonder – had the hospital trip never happened ever? Or had it been a hospital trip that had been for something else, and my brain just seemed to combine the two vivid events together?
Anyway, this article was really interesting! It is weird how many people don’t realize how many false memories they’re able of making!
You used a really good example to help explain the concept of false memory. I was able to relate to this example and I feel like a large group of people can too. This makes understanding the concept much easier. You also did a good job by adding an outside source which helps describe the phenomena of false memories further, and how such a simple concept can be overlooked.