When something
significant happens in your life, it is usually embedded in your mind for a
long period of time. The memory of this event makes the certain day clearer
than any other average day. Although, when put to the test, your memory of that
day is not as sharp as you would confidently think. In the article “You Have No
Idea What Happened” by Maria Konnikova, the way memory works is questioned and
explained.
There are many unsolved conclusions to how memory works.
Ulric Neisser, a cognitive psychologist, put his students to the test. A few
days after the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, Neisser asked his
students to take a short quiz recalling where they were and what they were
doing when they heard about the news of the explosion. Two years later, the
same student were asked the same questions in hopes of drawing the same
conclusions. Although their confidence of the accuracy of their answers were at
an all-time-high, their answers were almost all incorrect. In an effort to
inform and prove that our memories are not as sharp as we perceive them to be,
Konnikova draws in the psychologically interested public to show them their
wrong thinking.
As a majorly informative piece, Konnikova presents her
evidence through different research projects and data, such as neuroscientist
Lila Davachi’s study using pictures of animals and tools being paired with a
series of shocks. This information found that once an emotional event occurred
as you saw an image, such as being shocked as you saw an animal, your memory of
animals you have previously seen would be enhanced. This informed Konnikovas
audience that memory is strengthened at periods of more emotion.
Although people tend to feel confident when recalling
their memories of an important event, our thoughts get jumbled and after time
goes by, our recollection displays an incorrect view of what happened. So,
Konnikova asks her audience, what really did happen?
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