Laypersons are often oblivious to the number of memory errors that lead to an incorrect recall of events. Often people recall events that never took place, lose information on events that took place in the past, or even have inaccurate descriptions of the events that took place (Baddeley, 1976). These distortions are common and rampant in most communities of the world. This essay examines some reasons why memory errors take place in real life. It will also explain some of the main features of memory errors and a few of the consequences of these errors in real life. The author of the essay also attempts to answer the question of why these errors occur in daily life. In the final section, suggestions from cognitive psychology on how to reduce memory errors are explained to the audience.
Some of the main features of errors include mis-combination of stored results (Reintz & Lammers, 1992). For women, memory distortion occurs on a daily basis as a result of the storage of memories. According to the study, three types of stimuli are presented in a review and shown to respondents who are requested to provide feedback regarding visual stimuli.
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In this case, words and faces were found to be mis-combined and led to some responses from the results obtained. Relational distinctions are crucial in the process of distinctive processing of memories (Hunt & Worthen, 2006). In the fundamental issues section of their book, Hunt states that everyone knows notable events are well remembered because it attracts attention and has elements of surprise, bizarreness, and novelty that is facilitated by human memory capacity. That is what makes a memory distinct and less likely to be the subject of errors.
Some of the consequences of the errors made in real life come about as a result of imagination inflation effect. Some experts report an increase in vulnerability among patients to schizophrenia (Kraus, Keefe, Krishnan, 2009). According to the study on memory – prediction errors and consequences, researchers conclude that cognitive deficits play a crucial role in the formative stage developments of schizophrenia and in some cases, psychosis. In a sub-group of patients examined for the prevalence of schizophrenia in the United States. Literature review suggests that memory-based prediction and human perception are closely linked to thought and action, and little or no attention to symptoms arising from the failure of this system leads to increased prevalence of schizophrenia, hallucinations, and even delusions.
Why are human memory errors a reality? Research suggests that the mistakes that individuals make each day are as a result of phenomena that are beyond the control of conventional approaches to psychology (Ament, Cox, Blandford, & Brumby, 2013). Some of the errors that take place include unconscious transference, which is defined as the eyewitness challenge leading to older adults seeing familiarity even though they do not recall the roles of individuals they watch carrying out activities. This is strictly true in the cases of crime and the premise of numerous studies that show that well-mannered, friendly and relatable individuals are less likely to be criticized during instances requiring judgment.
The second type of human memory error that occurs is commission error, where a man or woman can confidently state that specific tasks were performed when they have not in real life. When employees perform this type of mistake in the workplace, revenue can be lost in organizations and vital working hours lost or unaccounted for. If a commission error occurs after a person plans to carry out a task on a future date, prospective memory is affected. Imagery is one of the approaches experts propose to engage the current encoding of activities and reduce the probability of this type of error re-occurring.
Harmful prospect errors lead individuals to do that which they intended not to do. Inertia often prompts this occurrence, and habitual behavior ends up well established in the minds of individuals. If attention is divided for tasks in an experiment, participants requested to complete their decision-making processes, and some were likely to become subject to fatal prospect errors. The final mistake that individuals are vulnerable to make is not making any mistakes because trial and error are one of how learning takes place for younger individuals. In experiments with both young and old participants, mistakes were shown to allow individuals to deeply process information and obtain various perspectives inaccessible to those unburdened by the likelihood of making mistakes. It also encourages the mindless completion of tasks.
According to cognitive psychology, people can perform a range of activities to reduce errors and minimize intrusion errors. According to therapists, the techniques that are applied in implementing solutions from findings are a collaborative effort that can aid in alleviating misconception on memory and how it can be improved (Madill, 2004). Research also supports strategies that encourage simulation of future events because the constructive memory processes that take place during simulation utilize the same methods as those in imagining personal experiences (Schacter, 2012). The methods encourage adaptiveness and even planning which contributes to problem-solving capabilities and help positive bias. When all the regions performing these functions are linked and more extensive networks established, errors are minimized.
Human capabilities to manage and minimize errors are a highly adaptive process that requires further research and implementation of findings to improve the everyday lives of individuals. As such, understanding errors helps explain why individuals experience confusion and how they can manage them and avoid health complications in the future.
References
Ament, M. G., Cox, A. L., Blandford, A., & Brumby, D. P. (2013). Making a task difficult: Evidence that device-oriented steps are effortful and error-prone. Journal of experimental psychology: applied , 19 (3), 195.
Baddeley, A. D. (1976). The psychology of memory. New York .
Hunt, R. R., & Worthen, J. B. (Eds.). (2006). Distinctiveness and memory . Oxford University Press.
Kraus, M. S., Keefe, R. S., & Krishnan, R. K. (2009). Memory-prediction errors and their consequences in schizophrenia. Neuropsychology review , 19 (3), 336.
Madill, A., & Holch, P. (2004). A Range of Memory Possibilities: The Challenge of the false Memory Debate for Clinicians and Researchers. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 11(5), 299-310. doi:10.1002/cpp.378
Reinitz, M. T., & Lammers, W. J. (1992). Memory-conjunction errors: Miscombination of stored stimulus features can produce illusions of memory. Memory & Cognition , 20 (1), 1-11.
Schacter, D. L. (2012). Adaptive constructive processes and the future of memory. American Psychologist, 67(8), 603-613. doi:10.1037/a0029869
