The Nature of Memory - Essay Example

FALSE MEMORY Nature of memory can lead to continued problems that can be incredibly tricky. This research paper discusses issues on false memory following the Deese Roediger-Mc Dermott procedure. This is a procedure mostly used in the cognitive psychology in the study of humans’ false memory. Pioneered by James Deese, this paradigm entails a representation of a list containing related words where an individual is expected to remember as many of the words as possible. Prototypes in the DRM paradigm are distinguished in mannerisms of not shown or shown as in the case of any other word. In this paper, it is clear that the individuals used remembered the non-represented words, but related words simply because they had similar frequencies as the presented words. On questioning the used individuals in this test, there was always a claim of remembering hearing the words that were non-represented which an indication of false memory is. False memory, in this case, shows a description of an event that in the real sense never occurred. This phenomenon has attracted a lot of research in the recent years with different individuals being used. The research represented incorporates a comparison of probe objects and irrelevant ones to aid in the other related researches performed in the laboratory to provide answers about the false memory phenomenon. Introduction According to Mawr, most individuals have the belief that their memories are based on accounts of that which already occurred mostly in the past. In my opinion, memory is not just about retrieved and stored past information. It is based on data encoded and memories that are constructed with the use of past knowledge pieced together, to create a situation as one memorizes the entire event. It is essential to realize that memory is prone to interference and for this reason can be altered, lost, or even created. From previous researches, it is clear that each memory can be influenced by the least new aspect learnt with major emphasize on the aspect that knowledge changes our thinking on matters that had already happened. False memory, in many early references, entails a condition where an individual creates an interpersonal relationship and identity, and they are both entered on false objectivities in which the individual believes (McDermott & Watson, 2001). It can also mean that an individual remembers the ideas quite differently from the actual manner in which they happened. According to current statics by the international biologists union, numbers of individuals having the false memory effect has incredibly increased with great numbers being registered in therapy courses. This has caused an increase in the publicity of this issue despite its many years study in most laboratory paradigms. Recovered memory therapy has been stipulated as a major cause for false memory and is a description of various therapy methods that can create confabulations (McDermott & Watson, 2001). According to a number of researches, therapeutic practices have been a major cause of this phenomenon with the desired recovery of memories representing actual creation of other memories. The interest in following ideas on false memory has led to the beginning of innovative ways in the laboratories that assist in the study of this phenomenon. A major contribution to the false memory-understanding phenomenon is the procedure introduced by Deese by modified by McDermott and Roediger. This procedure uses straight ways, or induced ways of false recognition and false recall to have participants prove the theory. Participants are required to memorize a series of related words, usually about fifteen that are presented auditory, but in an exceptionally slow speed. The commonly used speed is that of two seconds for every single word. On completing reading the words aloud, the participants are required to offer the highest quantity of words that they can remember in any format without having to guess ( Roedigger & McDermott, 1995). To assist the subjects, a word that can be used that predicts all the others is introduced, but is not stated among the words to be memorized. For instance, a list may involve words like glass, pane, door, shade, house, ledge, open, sill, view, curtain, frame, screen, breeze, sash and shutter. All these words have an attachment to the single word ‘window’ hence can be provided as a hint for participants. This word came up after some people were given the words above and asked to recall the entire list. The false recall is not a new phenomenon, and the above experiment was used as a motivation aimed at understanding the entire mechanisms that compromise the false recall. Various techniques can be employed in the study of false memory where determination of distinguishing ways is accessible to provide genuine memory (McDermott & Watson, 2001). Method The below experiment describes the manner in which Deese method is used in explaining the phenomenon about false memory with the use of fifteen words on sleep. This list is inclusive of prototypes represented in half the list. I. Participants and materials The participants included twenty young people who were mostly exchanging roles in a similar class. The entire method involved single tests for each participant. They were presented with five lists of related words that had a strong association but non-presented lure. This list consisted of non-recognized items that provided a dependant variable that lied between zero and five. The range up to five meant that all the non-presented targets lures were recognized as having been presented in the study. In following the method, it was important realizing that the independent variable represented the rate of presentation of the words. In other cases, it represented the amount of time each word remained on the screen. For this reason, the independent variable could vary between one second, to two seconds, to even three seconds. Materials The process used for this study was the Deese-Roediger- McDermott procedure. Each Participants were presented with five lists of related words that were to appear on a computer screen at different intervals. The research also includes a recognition test that is inclusive of a number of presented words and some new words. The lists were used with each consisting of prototypes that have a following of fifteen prototypical associates, with the highly associated being the first and least associated arranged in the last position. These words are awake, bed, tired, rest, wake, dream, doze, snooze, blanket, nap, slumber, snore, yawn, peace and drowsy. The direct representation of these words is ‘sleep’. For the study phase, two hundred and sixty words were represented with each testing phase showing a maximum of five in each list. Procedure Each study happened in a computer room with each participant witnessing a computer message providing instructions, and required each individual to quietly read the words and try remembering as many as possible. This was ideal because the test in the next phase would involve remembering these words. On keenly following the instructions, the participant was supposed to begin word presentations with each word being made available for only two seconds. In the showing of these words, it is essential to allow case variations with alternate words appearing in different cases. In each case, the prototype did not involve both associates but only the lowest of them all. In an alternated case, the prototypes were declared, and the participants were allowed to make judgments out of the words already screened. On completion, a simple test was performed to ensure that the participants had recognized the difference between recollection and familiarity. The test that consisted of four examples provided accentuate on the independence of each factor. This included recognition of whether the words were previously represented in the test or a representation was not available. In each word represented, the tested words had the choice to either show or not show with each appearing. In this study, there was a comparison of probe objects and irrelevant ones with their common names appearing as known objects or unknown objects respectively. In the study, it is essential to realize that a typical pattern for the response has the electro dermal activity appearing in a stronger and greater manner. Other factors that can be identified include lower phasic heart rate, lower respiration line length and lower pulse waveform length associated with the identified objects. This current study and method may go further to show whether the peripheral psycho physiological responses have any effect or rather have any difference between the false and true groups. In the study of group interaction, an analysis was made with the planned memorable differences coming out strong among the studied items. Any of the items that were used and did not create a relation were used with the aim of providing a manipulated check for judgments recognition. In similar mannerisms, the entire process was aimed at disentangling responses associated with electro dermal and those that are related to motor activity and orientation. This is the reason a time delay is essential with two seconds being the time chosen for this study to create a delay between the presented items. Results Results show that the mean lures recalled were different based on the independent variable. When the independent variable was one second, the mean lure recalled was four. When compared to the other times when different independent variables were used, this was the highest. Using the two-second independent variable the mean lure recalled was 3.7 whereas the three-second variable had a mean lure recalled of 3.6. This shows that the least the independent variable the greater the number of words remembered (McDermott & Watson, 2001). Independent variables 1 second 2 seconds 3 seconds Mean lures recalled 4.0 3.7 3.6 The above table provides an analysis of the signal detection that was found to lack any significant difference in the manner of word discrimination. A good example of word calculation is represented in the table whereby it is evident that the variable had showed a greater difference. The result provided a conclusion that all the participants were incredibly broadminded. The classifications of these words into high associates, low associates and prototypes with the latter are having the best recognition rate, the high targets as well as the low targets. Others that appeared after the latter included the high and low distracters and were similar for all groups; the family judgments, recall and recognition (Thapar & McDermott,2001). The prototype used and shown in the recognition had an effect in the prototype recognition. In most cases, the false alarm in the low and high associates was lower than in the prototypes resulting to paving an agreement with the DRM effects. In each word with an exception of the positioning of the word, the serial proved a great significance. Most individuals using this type to research false memory with the aid from DRM, concluded that it was better presenting all items in a simultaneous category with the help of visual scenes that include picture conditions (Thapar & McDermott,2001). While using this method to study this, there was a lot of false memory registered. Although this method is commonly used, it has some disadvantages associated with it with most design being smaller false rates of recognition. It is essential to realize that the nature of the design referred to as categorical can only be dependent on the stimuli. It is arguably right that the problem discussed above can be approached with the insertion of a control group. The subjects would have to view all related lures although not present in the group experimented in their cases. This provides a way for permitting a between group interaction and a different mode of computation that can be used to address a bias statistical but memorable aspect. It is essential to realize that this aspect should always be avoided in the case of studying false memory using the DRM (McDermott & Watson, 2001). Conclusion It is essential to comprehend that this study can be affected by external factors like reduction of concentration in the process of studying and non-presented significant entice interruptions. The latter causes an increase whereas the former enhances decrease. Although some errors may be possible especially if the results are, analyzed using bar analysis, the ideal method always paves way for the ultimate recognition and understanding of false memory (Mawr, 2001). The entire study ensures that most people come out of being reliant to embrace recognition adaptations and tests used in false memories. In the entire research paper, different individuals can collectively realize that the carried on experiments assisted in identifying those subjects that were confidently under the recognition of the non-represented words. The used words constantly aimed at remembering the lure that appeared on the provided list instead of having to rely on feelings or familiarity to provide answers or judgments. References Roedigger, H. L.III. & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 21, P.p 803- 814. McDermott, K. B & Watson, J. M (2001). The rise and fall of false recall: The impact of presentation duration. Journal of Memory and Language , 45. P.p 160- 176. Thapar, A., & McDermott, K. B (2001). False recall and false recognition induced by presentation of associated words: Effects of retention intervaland level of processing. Memory & Cognition, 19, P.p 424- 432. Read More