False Memory

Memory is fallible and malleable that can be changed and created a new experience or information. This fabricated or distorted remembering of an event is called a false memory, however, never occurred in reality. Inaccurate information and erroneous attribution sources of an original information causes to recollect entirely false events. Also, the false memory can have profound implications that vivid and lively recollection of memory may reconstruct new memory. In addition, it can be created by poor understanding of the false memory that lead to terrible miscarriages of justice in legal system. The purpose of this research is to explore the effect of the false memory and the possibilities of its formation.
This false memory can be constructed
It is often partially or fully inaccurate reconstructions of events. Then, this memory phenomenon greatly influences people’s emotionality, social expectations, implied beliefs of others, or inappropriate interpretation (Steffens & Mechklenbrauker, 2007). Loftus, Feldman, and Dashiell suggest that the false memory becomes stronger and more vivid when enough time has passed that original memory has faded. Due to this, the eyewitness may confuse misleading post-event information and what they have seen. In this study, all witnesses watch a video about the tragedy traffic accident. Subsequently, half of them are exposed to misleading information about the event and it leads to make an error in these eyewitnesses’ memories. When the researcher asks them whether they see a yield or a stop sign, they say they apparently see the yield sign. They do not recognize that there really had not been any sign. As a result, eyewitnesses who does not get any misleading information describe much more accurate events. Furthermore, the eyewitness testimony strongly establishes the formation of the false memory because the strong suggestion may occur during police interrogations. It leads to cause of wrongful convictions, through false identification of a suspect recollection. Similar to this study, Loftus (1997) notes Saul M. Kassin and his colleagues’ experiment of falsely accused
Providing cues may later be incorporated, by facilitating the match between self-knowledge and possible events. The child abuse, false evidence of eyewitness, misjudgment of innocent people, and other cases in legal system should be considered. Unfortunately, current research still disputes about how to differentiate between true or false memory. However, many previous study help to understand the process by which false memories