Memory Essay

Autobiographic memories ar known to be frequently inaccurate. In fact, when a individual recalls the gone, the images of real events are intermingled with events that any never occurred or are distorted so severely that at that place is little opportunity to recognize the true happenings in them. This occurs because of the operation of original principles of storehouse that render exact memories difficult and almost unrealistic. These principles include dodgings and mechanisms of stay explaining why memories open fire often be inaccurate and misleading.SchemasSchemas directly run into human wisdom of the outer world, other people. They are even much signifi appriset in the conceptualization of what one is and what one supposes oneself to be. A person operating on a scheme has a distinct perception of ones own self that fits into a framework pre-specified in the schema. This framework includes a variety of attri notwithstandinges directly related to the life of an indiv idual.An senior woman could see her life as one of a employ Christian. In such a case, she terminate be willing to constrict a style the memories that do not demonstrate such a vogue in her life. Thus, she may be willing to repress memories of youthful entertainment that do not fit into her current beliefs and attitudes so that she could feel to a greater extent comfortable about her sometime(prenominal). This can occur not because of intended self-deception, but because of the stated schema that operates at the subconscious level.A man whose schema is that of a courageous hero will live the life ground on this schema. In this case, he will tend to repress memories of his childhood episodes in which he acted as a coward or a villain, in his own current perception. Such incidents will not fit into his schema and thus are repressed as conflicting. The schema in this way g overns not only what occurs in the present(a), but also memories of the past. haphazardnessInterference is another powerful influence on the mechanisms of memory that makes remembrance of the past often inaccurate. It occurs because a human mind cannot store infinite amounts of information. When raw(a) information comes in, it may interfere with the one-time(a) layers.Interference falls into both types proactive mental disorder and retroactive interference. The first kind occurs when an older memory interferes with remembering a newer memory (Borree, 2002). This is especially relevant to the successive larn of several foreign languages when the knowledge of the previously studied language can interfere with the knowledge of the current one. Retroactive interference, in contrast, occurs when newer memories interfere with older ones (Borree, 2002).The latter type is more relevant to the exploration of autobiographic memory inaccuracy. When the current information conflicts with older layers, it can take precedence over them. A person who has achieved high socioeconomic status in t he present may inaccurately believe that his past was also more resplendent than it really was. A common occurrence is to see the harsh interposition from parents as intolerable abuse when one is consistently told, for instance, in a therapy course, that he or she was the victim of abuse.Evidence shows that some of the people who remembered awful things like macrocosm abused as children were discovered to have created these memories chthonian pressure from their therapists (Borree, 2002). When people in society are continuously being told about abuse in families, they tend to see their past in the same light, inventing instances of abuse even where they were not present. This represents a case of interference where the past interferes with the present.RepressionRepression is a term that was introduced by Sigmund Freud, the psychologist who invented the psychoanalysis theory. According to him, memories can be repressed if they are too painful or unlikeable to people. Humans ten d to push painful memories out of our awareness and into a deep, dark place called the unconscious mind (Borree, 2002). This mechanism, too, can explain how memories are stored in places from which they are never retrieved. This distorts the real picture of the past events. purposeMany people with susceptible psyche can fall eat to conscious manipulation that leads to the change in their memories post factum. A adept person using hypnosis can put them in this state. Manipulation can be used in a less conspicuous fashion through the use of specific language, for instance. The lawyer in court who uses the denomination tragedy to describe the misfortunes of the victim will force the victim to believe that he or she has indeed been through a terrible tragedy. findingDistortions of events in autobiographic memory can arise for a digit of reasons. Schemas, interference, repression and manipulation are just a few mechanisms that can arrogate human memories. In each case, the result is the distorted perception of the past reality which is influenced by the current cognitive state of the individual.ReferenceBoeree, C.G. (2002). Memory. Retrieved tremendous 2, 2006, from http//www.ship.edu/cgboeree/memory.html