You Can Learn to Remember: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life pdfdrive com

particular problem when eyewitnesses to an accident or crime are asked to give
evidence. The accuracy of this type of information has been the subject of many
psychological studies. Despite the fact that we often assume the opposite to be
true, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus found that scenes of violence or damage,
whether real or fictitious (for example, in a movie), are actually less clearly and
accurately remembered than non-violent scenes. During times of stress it is
important that you give your memory a chance – treat it sympathetically, as you
would a person who has been subjected to shock. Try to seek perspectives from
other people before deciding on a course of action. Do not make decisions
hastily. At such times you may find yourself relying more than usual on written
notes, as a back-up to memory. Once the time of stress has passed, your
confidence in your memory’s powers will return to its former strength.
flashbulb memories
Do you remember what you were doing when you heard of Princess
Diana’s death (August 31, 1997)? When a very shocking event takes place,
often we recall a host of trivial details that occurred in our lives at the same
time, such as where we were or who we were with. These are called
flashbulb memories. Psycholo gists James Kulick and Roger Brown, who
identified this phenomenon in 1977, proposed that a shocking event may
activate a special pro cess in the brain, which they called a “now print”.
Unlike normal memory, this “freezes” the moment in the mind, like a
snapshot. Insig nificant details, such as the quality of the light, may be
remembered with hyperclarity. Flashbulb memories are not immune to
distortion, but many are extremely accurate and persist longer than ordinary
memories.
In small doses, stress may help us to draw information from our mind. For
example, during an examination, adrenaline may help us to narrow our focus on
key issues. However, when stress makes us fearful, we are more likely to lose
concentration, miss details or even lose touch with important memories entirely.
Another factor in the reliability of our memory concerns the associations
that we make, whether consciously or unconsciously, when storing a memory.
Many scientists believe that a memory acquires something of the characteristics
of the older, more firmly established memories to which it is attached. Thus, the

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primary information or experience is distorted slightly when it is stored. In
clinical tests, people were asked to memorize nonsense images, including a
jagged shape that was reminiscent of the outline of a five-pointed star. The