Analysis Of Elizabeth Loftus's Reconstructive Memory

A question that psychologists who study memory have is, can human’s memory be reliable? Others do believe that, how a person remembers an event is how it occurred. The example used in the reading is that memory is like playing a video. One of the leading psychologist in memory Elizabeth Loftus, claimed that when an event is remembered it is not meticulously recreated, rather than what is remembered is a reconstruction of the actual event. Reconstruction of memory can be crucial when the testimony of an eyewitness testimony determines the fate of a defendant. Loftus conducted 4 studies that influenced memory and criminal law. Her research showed that reconstructive memory is a recall of an experience filled with new and existing information

Loftus proved how in legal terms, eye witness’s recall of an event could have been altered by the way they were questioned. Loftus states that what a witness remembers is a recreation image based on the memory that was changed. 1 of the studies that were influenced by this, was an examination how lawyer’s complicate questions have a negatively affect eyewitness accuracy and confidence. In this study it proved how using confusion language, participants were less exact in their eyewitness reports and less confident of there answers than those who were asked straightforward questions. Loftus research proved that when eyewitnesses are shown a picture line up of the suspect, their accuracy lessens as new faces are added into their reconstruction of the original event. Other studies influenced by Loftus’s research concluded that the brain can create memories that never really happened. In addition to her work-study in eyewitness testimony’s, Loftus also expertized in repressed childhood memories. The research studied how victims suddenly recalled traumatic memories that were repressed in the unconscious and have been revealed with the help of a therapist. In this area of study, she proved in many studies that repressed memories simply do not exist. She argued that experimental evidence repeatedly showed traumatic memories tend to be the ones we remember best. Clinicians oppose to her findings but Loftus suggested 3 memory distortions that explain what clinician see as repression. Loftus believes that memory cannot be repressed but forgotten because she says when a child is abused and does not understand what is going on, they remember poorly. 2nd people in therapy can say they have no memory of any abuse, not because it did not happen, or they have forgotten but more that they chose not to think about. And 3rd she says that some people may believe that a traumatic event occurred and