Being a college student looking back on my early years of life, I believe that I am able to remember and recall many things that have happened to me during my lifetime. This would be considered using my memory. Memory can accurately be defined as the persistence of learning over time, through storage and retrieval of information. I remember things such as shore trips with my family, falling off of my bike when I first learned how to ride it, and many magical trips to Disney World. We create memories every day that we look back on and cherish with friends and family. We are reminded of these memories by pictures, souvenirs, and even people talking to us about it. Have you ever wondered if you actually remember something from your early childhood or if you can only recall it because you were constantly reminded of it?

False-memory syndrome is when the creation of inaccurate of false memories through the suggestion of others often while the person is under hypnosis. This makes it easy to recall some real memories, yet easier to create false memories. When I was two years old, my whole family went to Disney World. We all went and saw the movie Honey I Shrunk the Kids. I remember at the very end of the movie, the dog sneezed and real water came out of the screen and splashed me. I cried for a straight ten minutes afterwards because I was so scared. Now for the longest time I thought I just had a great memory and was able to remember everything about that moment. Looking back at it now, I am unsure if I actually remember it, or from hearing my parents constantly tell me could be what I remember. It can’t be said as to which one is accurately is, but it is something I like to think about because now that I am older, it makes me laugh.

Stephanie Unger

Blog Assignment #1

1/28/14

            In psychology, one of the theories that have been discovered many years ago was the psychoanalytic theory. This theory was discovered by a man named Sigmund Freud and he stated that it is the belief that childhood experiences greatly influence the development of later personality traits and psychological problems. The unconscious mind may cause people to act in ways when they are adults, even when they are conscious, based on awful situations that occurred in their early years of life. When I was six years old, my family took a vacation to the Jersey shore which we typically have done every summer. All of the adults were socializing in their beach chairs while the kids were both in the ocean and playing in the sand. I have always been protective of my little brother since the day he was born, but he was 4 years old then. As my family was packing up to leave the beach, we came across the realization that we were short a number on the count of children and Blaise, my little brother, was missing. The beach is so large, filled with hundreds of people, and has a gigantic ocean. Therefore, anybody can only imagine the thoughts that were racing through my head. Luckily, after searching the beach for a while, we found him a few blocks away, sitting on a lifeguard stand crying. He was playing with another little boy and when he went to leave, he lost sight of my family so he began walking alone to find us. Ever since that day, whenever my family goes to the beach, a wave of nervousness comes across me and I regularly check to make sure my brother, who is now a young teenager, and the other little kids in my family are in sight. With this being said, it is easy to tie this example in with the concept of the psychoanalytic theory. I subconsciously look around to make sure everyone is safe on the beach every single time my family goes there do to the traumatic experience I had when I was younger. That day twelve years ago changed me in a way that I have no control over because of how horrified and scared I was because my little brother was missing. I may not always think about the experience while I am on the beach, however that does not stop me from being very observant of my younger family members. I check on them now constantly which is caused by my past.