“We can’t reliably distinguish true memories from false memories,” declares psychologist Elizabeth Loftus in today’s talk. She’s spent the past forty years studying the memory, and has reached some mind-blowing conclusions about what we know, and what we think we know. Here, she shares more detail about her work, and suggests further reading for anyone interested in finding out more about the topic.
[ted_talkteaser id=1826]There is a lay belief that when something traumatic happens, it leaves a kind imprint in the mind. In one large survey of potential jurors in the U.S., one question asked whether the jurors agreed or disagreed with this statement: “The act of remembering a traumatic event is like a video recording in which one can recall details as if they had been imprinted or burned into one’s brain.”
Over half of the jurors (52%) either agreed that this was true or did not know…
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