Urvi Bhuwania 16: Manipulating Memories
Manipulating Memories
smithsonianmag.com
In some of my past blogs, I discussed the detriments of remembering too much and the importance of forgetting selectively. However, there is a middle ground between completely retaining or losing a memory. In fact, almost all of our memories suffer from either abstraction or distortion, and the manipulating of memories, inadvertently and not, can occur almost every time we attempt to recall a memory.
Dr. Roy Dings and Professor Albert Newen from Ruhr-University describe the remembering of past memories as an "episodic memory system," split into exposure to the stimulus, processing of the memory with background knowledge or predilections, and the processing and association of the final memory recalled. Each of these three steps has significant room for manipulation that can affect not only individual memories, but general perceptions and correlating memories.
The first process in recalling a memory is often a stimulus that encourages a person to remember something similar. For example, wedding photos or videos with friends would stimulate joyful memories with friends and family whereas photos of exes or sensitive topics would bring up similarly somber memories. Each instance of pulling a memory strengthens the synaptic connections for these memories, making these memories more likely to last longer and contribute to one's general perception of themselves. In his theoretical paper, Newen explicates how people consequently try to surround themselves with only positive stimuluses that recall positive memories, which is pretty easy to see in one's own daily life too. If one is decorating their room for example, they are much more likely to put up posters and photos that correlate to happy parts of their life to create a comforting space. This not only leads to an individual having a stronger memory of joyful experiences, but also a stronger memory of those events that paint that individual in a good light. Similar to having a predilection towards positive memories, individuals have an inclination to think more about accomplishments and relationships and perspectives that make one feel better. This in itself leads to a general distortion of memory with only favorable memories remaining and memories of hurtful or guilt inducing scenarios slowly being forgotten.
This influences the second level of memory processing as well. Since memories contain only certain details, the brain will often use prior knowledge and experiences to formulate a full memory from an abstract one. This dilemma can be see often with politics. When processing a memory related to politics that could have two interpretations, individuals will often recall the memory in a way that matches their political leanings. Fundamentally, the way in which we interpret our memories and fill in the missing details follows the concept of people seeing only what they want to see. This can be often attributed as the root for varying stories and interpretations of the same situation.
Lastly, memory is manipulated when the final result is associated with some outside information and reset in the brain. To adjust to social expectations, people will often miscommunicate their memories to friends, family, and coworkers, not realizing that when memories are misrepresented enough, they can actually become distorted in one's own mind as well. It's similar to telling yourself one thing over and over again in the hopes of eventually believing it. If you repeatedly associate a memory with false recountings and characteristics, the connections in your brain will similarly adapt these associations, effectively distorting a memory.
Ultimately, it is impossible to truly control the manipulation of memories, but understanding how it works could prove to be extremely helpful for psychologists in diagnosing and helping patients understand and manage mental illnesses like PTSD.
Sources:
https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/how-people-manipulate-their-own-memories-352983
This is really interesting because I remember seeing a video about someone explaining how whenever you recall a memory, it becomes something farther and farther from what the truth is. That made me really self-conscious about recalling memories for a while, and I would somehow restrain from thinking about certain scenarios or things from the past to "preserve" an accurate representation of my memories. That changed now, but it is interesting how a memory that we are so certain is true can be distorted with time.
ReplyDeleteHey Urvi, remembering positive memories is beneficial but can have its downsides at times. Last Saturday, I went to prom and had the time of my life for four hours straight, laughing, making friends, and partying. I danced and partied so excessively that all I could think about was the excitement of the party when I tried sleeping, which resulted in poor sleep. That being said, remembering positive memories proves beneficial whenever you feel sad or energetic. Overall, mindfulness should be practiced after overstimulation.
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Hey Urvi, this is so important and sometimes it's something that we fail to see clearly. I remember when I went to India this February for my cousin's wedding. It was easily the best 2 weeks of my life because I was around the people I loved, from close family to people I haven't seen in over 5 years. It's certain made the smile on my face become the biggest it could have ever been but right after everything ended, I didn't want to leave. To drag my mind away from thinking about leaving india, the happy memories from the wedding kept circling in my head and that led to a lack of concentration and sleep for me personally. Although those times are times I never want to forget and makes me smile the biggest I could ever when I feel sad or need a boost of energy, at times it can also have negative effects on us even if we fail to realize it at the moment.
ReplyDeleteHi Urvi! As always, your blogs are so deep and insightful. This specific blog reminds me of the memory formation unit in my AP Psychology class. I remember learning about how sometimes if a situation is repeated enough, the person will believe that to be the reality and even have a memory of the event. Memory can be affected during any level of processing but it is truly interesting how memories are uncontrollable and so powerful.
ReplyDeleteHi Urvi! This reminds me of Carolin's blog of the murder case where witnesses had entirely different recollections of the same event. Unconsciously manipulating memory is interesting and scary at the same time, and it makes me wonder how many times I've done it myself.
ReplyDeleteHi Urvi,
ReplyDeleteYour blogs always seem to expand my vocabulary with every sentence. In elementary, I hated reading as I could never understand a sentence all the way till the end. Somewhere half-way my mind wandered, and the meanings of words seemed to disappear. Even to this day, whenever I read complex jargon or a lengthy sentence, I get somewhat flustered and impatient having to reread until I remember to understand. For the SAT and APENG Exam I had to remind myself to clear my mind and not let past experiences reading hinder my comprehension of this new passage. Same goes for any assignment. The stress associated with memorizing, writing, reading, or even just thinking should not be able to weaken my motivation.
Hi Urvi, your blog is really interesting and it reminds me to an article I read about how our memory is impacted by adrenaline. After studying, people that did things like ice water baths or rigorous exercise retained the memory by a significant margin. It is interesting to see the evolutionary connection to memory retention. Our body and mind seem to compensate in times that the human is in danger.
ReplyDeleteHi Urvi, thank you for sharing the details about the episodic memory system. It makes sense that most people focus on stimuli that provoke happy memories and joyful times with friends, family and events, their best accomplishments in life, etc. It sounds a bit like looking at life through rose colored glasses. To some extent, this is probably a good thing. However, as you point out, in the political world, only seeing what one likes is very distorted and can even be dangerous. And, then your last point about how false facts can actually distort memories is really scary. Again, the human brain is really complex and there is always more we are learning.
ReplyDeleteHi Urvi! I honestly did not know that the concept of manipulation of memories had an actual name, and I find this concept incredibly interesting. I feel like manipulating even one aspect of the formation of remembering, whether it be a certain abstract detail (that will be used to form a concrete memory), a trigger, or the entire memory as a whole. I see this happening with my earliest memories, where I feel like I tell myself what happened rather than remembering the entire event. The interesting thing with manipulation of memories is that you never know you are doing it.
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