Human Memory: It works like a Tape Recorder or Video Camera, and Accurately Records the Events We've Experienced

I'm sure we have all had that one event that has made such an impression on us we know we will NEVER forget it, right? Well, we may not all be as right as we thought. Another myth that has been debunked is that our memory does not work like a Tape Recorder or Video Camera when we are trying to recall an event we have experienced. (Lilienfeld, Lynn, Rscio, Beyerstein, 2010, pg 65) This is an important myth because almost every day we are recalling events that have happened in the past. If we recall them wrong, or not as accurate as we thought, they we are providing misinformation and getting our facts mixed up. Now has anyone ever heard a story from Mom or Dad or another family member or friend about an event they will never forget? Well of course we have all heard stories like that. Now has anyone heard a story about a particular group of people that really made mom or dad upset? Most times when we hear a story that really upsets our loved ones we tend to side with them and form a prejudice towards the group that upset our loved one.

Now of course we all want to remember special events in our life. Well, if you want to remember your wedding day, because it brought you happiness and great feelings, chances are, you are likely to hold on to that memory for longer than if you had had a terrible day. People who are victims of an unkind act tend to forget the act quicker than those of a kind act. (Li, King King, 2012) Okay so we tend to forget unkind acts quicker than kind acts. That's great, right? Well, according to Nancy Shute, our memory pushes out the old events and replaces them with recent events. Lets so your Father has a great experience with a certain group of people and has nothing but nice things to say about them. That memory will likely last for awhile. That is until he has a bad experience and it then replaces the prior event. (Shute, 2014) 

Northwestern University did a study where they asked 17 people to look at a picture of certain scenery such as beaches or farms, with a small object placed on them in a certain spot. They were then shown the scene with the object in a new location. After seeing the scene with the object in two different spots they were asked to place the object back in the first place. They always got it wrong. (Shute, 2014) This is because our memory gets overwritten with what is happening most recently. So if our family has a bad experience with a certain group of people and then relays that experience to us, we may join in on their feelings, just because we care about them and we hate to see them so upset.

How many of us have said something mean about a group of people just because that is how our family feels? We are displaying prejudice which is "prejudgement". It is an unjustifiable and most times negative attitude towards a group. (Myers, 2014, pg 510) We need to think back on any times we may have displayed prejudice and think if we did it for our own reasons or because of something someone told us. Also, going forward, we need to keep in mind that if someone is recalling an event, they may not be recalling it 100% accurately so don't jump to conclusions.

References:

Li, King King (2012) Asymmetric memory recall of positive and negative events in social interactions. Experimental Economics Vol 16(3) Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.westminstercollege.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=39&sid=9055f86f-cc16-46dc-a92d-05fecec673b8%40sessionmgr114&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=psyh&AN=2013-28805-002

Shute, Nancy (Feb 05, 2014) Our Brains Rewrite Our Memories, Putting Present in the Past Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/02/04/271527934/our-brains-rewrite-our-memories-putting-present-in-the-past

Lilienfeld, S.O., Lynn, S.J., Ruscio, J, & Beyerstein, B.L (2010) 50 Great Myths Of Popular Psychology 

Myers, David G (2014) Exploring Psychology in Modules

 

People Only Use 10% of their Brain Power

Only 10%?! When we hear we only use 10% of our Brain Power it doesn't seem to add up. How is it possible we only use 10% of our brain power? Well, for those who are questioning this - you are on the right track! This is a well known myth mostly one that I think we learn from word of mouth. (Lilienfeld, Lynn, Ruscio, Beyerstein, 2010) In fact in one study psychology students were asked "About what percentage of their potential brain power do you think most people use?" and a third of psychology majors answered 10% (Lilienfeld et al, 2010, pg 21) This is an important myth to understand because its good to avoid misinformation. If we think we only use 10% of our brain power then sometimes we don't think we can do any better than what we are currently doing. 

So how do we know this is a myth? Well for a few different reasons. I think, the most important, is the fact that brain imaging scans show that there is activity in almost all regions of the brain. (Cherry) Another thing to think about: When people get in accidents and have brain damage, why are they brain dead, in some cases? If we only used 10% of our brain then shouldn't they be completely fine? Head injuries are dangerous and we definitely use more than 10% of our brain.

It may seem kind of silly now that we think about it. How could we possibly survive only using 10% of our brain power and where did this idea ever come from? Well, it is believed that it developed into a myth from William James. Only, he never actually said we only use 10% of our brain power. In his 1908 book, The Energies of Men, he wrote, "We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources." (Cherry) So by learning that we do not only use 10% of our brain power, what kind of impression does that leave on you? Do you feel like you can do more with your life by living to your full ability, knowing you are doing a lot more than 10% 

References:

Lilienfeld, S.O., Lynn, S.J., Ruscio, J, & Beyerstein, B.L. (2010) 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology

Swami, V, Stieger, S, Pietschnig, S, Nader, I & Voracek, M (2011) Using more than 10% of our brains: Examining belief in science-related myths from an individual differences perspective. Learning and Individual Differences V22(3) Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.westminstercollege.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=36&sid=9055f86f-cc16-46dc-a92d-05fecec673b8%40sessionmgr114&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=psyh&AN=2011-30331-001

Cherry, Kendra, Do You Really Only Use 10% of Your Brain? Retrieved from: http://psychology.about.com/od/biopsychology/a/10-percent-of-brain-myth.htm

Introduction

What is Psychology? Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. (McLeod, 2011) “Because psychology is a science it attempts to investigate the causes in behavior using systematic and objective procedures for observation, measurement and analysis, backed-up by theoretical interpretations, generalizations, explanations, and predications” (McLeod, 2011) In this blog I will touch on some areas of Psychology and will reveal to you that they are myths! Hard to believe there are false statements when we are talking about the study of the mind and behavior, but there are a lot of myths, that most people don't even realize are myths. Mythbusting is the process of proving an idea wrong with facts or studies. It is important to debunk myths about psychology so we can understand what is true about our mind and behavior. I hope with this blog I can help debunk some important myths so you, as the reader, can gain a better understanding about Psychology and the science behind it. 

References:

McLeod, Saul (2011) What is Psychology? Retrieved from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/whatispsychology.html