
The "False Memory" Effect and Its Implications for Self-Improvement


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Believing in your ability to improve can help your brain overcome the tendency to create "false memories" and other cognitive biases.


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🧠 Today in cognitive biases: The “false memory” effect describes how it’s possible to invent and “remember” a memory if asked leading questions. For example, in one study, researchers convinced participants that they had played a prank on a first-grade teacher with toy slime.

Issue #153: upcycling, locally grown bananas, and the value of incomplete plans

By Zulie @ Medium

Happy Friday! In honor of today’s mini-theme (too much info, not enough memory), let’s do a quick refresher on cognitive bias week so far:

Conundrum #1 : Humans aren’t great at dealing with info overload. Our brains filter until we’ve turned the random noise the universe is giving us into a meaningful signal.

: Humans aren’t great at dealing with info overload. Our brains filter until we’ve turned the random noise the universe is giving us into a meaningful signal. Conundrum #2 : When we get those signals, we bend over backward to turn them into meaningful stories.

: When we get those signals, we bend over backward to turn them into meaningful stories. Conundrum #3: Using those stories, we justify going for fast, quick, easy decisions over harder, thoughtful decisions.

Today, we’re talking about conundrum #4: You don’t have enough memory to remember everything important (which is why you probably can’t perfectly recall the previous conundrums), so your brain makes shortcuts. We generalize instead of remembering specifics; we rely on stereotypes; we edit our memories down to match our initial impressions or to fit the narrative we’re given.

For example, writes psychology student Dolphy Lee, in one study, two groups of participants watched a video of a car accident. Group One was asked how fast the cars were going when they smashed into each other, while Group Two was asked how fast the cars were going when they hit each other. A week later, the groups were asked if there had been any broken glass. Overwhelmingly, the group who was asked about the cars smashing into each other recalled seeing glass, even though there was no glass.

We have unbelievably complex brains doing their best to whittle down the overwhelming amount of info out there into something we can use, and sometimes that means creating “false memories.” Counterintuitively, these shoddy memories are actually adaptive, even if they’re incorrect. Your brain tweaks memories to make all of them more accurate in general, although individual memories might be significantly off. Basically, we trade inaccurate minutiae for accurate overarching themes (which are more important to our survival long-term).

Still, it’s frustrating to realize you’ve remembered things wrong — and that, due to all the biases we’ve learned about so far, you’re perceiving a lot of things incorrectly in the first place. Is there any hope?

As we learned in Monday’s newsletter, awareness of biases actually makes those biases even stronger, whoops. But, in Buster’s words, “if we accept that we are permanently biased, but that there’s room for improvement, confirmation bias will continue to help us find evidence that supports this, which will ultimately lead us to better understanding ourselves.”

Believe that you can improve, and your brain will do the rest.

⚡ Lightning round: great, recent Medium stories in one sentence or less

Your daily dose of practical wisdom: Struggling to declutter? Try upcycling.

Like a lot of writers, I have a deep, visceral, and emotional attachment to the books on my bookshelves, even if I haven’t touched them in years. Recycling researcher Theresa Ann Story offers a thoughtful tip on how to declutter things you love: “If you’ve determined your books are beyond sharing, there’s still one more stop before hitting the recycle bin — turn old books into something useful.” She suggests hidden storage or a clock.

💭 Quiz: Cognitive Bias Redux

Here are three questions related to the cognitive biases we’ve learned about this week (for a refresher, browse previous issues of the Medium Newsletter here). If you know the answers, email us: tips@medium.com. First to answer all three correctly will win a free Medium membership.

Issue #153: upcycling, locally grown bananas, and the value of incomplete plans

Believe you can improve, and your brain will do the rest

### title_rewrite
How Our Brains Create "False Memories" and the Importance of Believing in Self-Improvement

### category
Cognitive Psychology

### topic
The "False Memory" Effect and Its Implications for Self-Improvement

### coremsg
Believing in your ability to improve can help your brain overcome the tendency to create "false memories" and other cognitive biases.

### note
This article discusses the "false memory" effect, which describes how it's possible for people to invent and "remember" memories if asked leading questions. The author provides an example of a study where researchers convinced participants that they had played a prank on a first-grade teacher with toy slime, even though this never actually happened.

The article then connects this concept to the broader theme of cognitive biases, which the author has been exploring in a series of newsletters. Specifically, the author notes that humans have a tendency to filter out information overload, turn random signals into meaningful stories, and make quick decisions based on those stories rather than more thoughtful ones.

The "false memory" effect is presented as the fourth in a series of "conundrums" related to these cognitive biases. The author explains that our brains make shortcuts to deal with the overwhelming amount of information we encounter, which can lead to inaccurate memories. However, the author suggests that these inaccuracies are actually adaptive, as they allow us to focus on the broader themes that are more important for our long-term survival.

Despite the frustration of realizing we've remembered things incorrectly, the author proposes that there is hope. Specifically, the author suggests that if we believe we can improve and overcome our biases, our brains will work to support this belief, ultimately leading to better self-understanding.

The article concludes with a "lightning round" of recent Medium stories, including a tip on how to declutter by upcycling old books, as well as a quiz related to the cognitive biases discussed throughout the series.

### data_sheet
"In one study, researchers convinced participants that they had played a prank on a first-grade teacher with toy slime, even though this never actually happened."

### quotes
"Believe that you can improve, and your brain will do the rest."

### further_questions
How might the "false memory" effect impact our ability to accurately recall and learn from past experiences?

What are some potential drawbacks or risks of relying on our brain's tendency to create "meaningful stories" from random signals?

How could the principles of neuroplasticity and the brain's ability to adapt be leveraged to overcome cognitive biases and improve our decision-making abilities?

The "False Memory" Effect and Its Implications for Self-Improvement

how-our-brains-create-false-memories-and-the-importance-of-believing-in-self-improvement

note


"Believe that you can improve, and your brain will do the rest."


quotes


"In one study, researchers convinced participants that they had played a prank on a first-grade teacher with toy slime, even though this never actually happened."


data_sheet


How Our Brains Create "False Memories" and the Importance of Believing in Self-Improvement


How Our Brains Create "False Memories" and the Importance of Believing in Self-Improvement

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Believe you can improve, and your brain will do the rest

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