"Does Memory Accurately Record Events?" Psychology Myths (Part 2 of 5)
Myth #2 Memory accurately records events we have experienced. “I was with the guys for a second, and I think I went over to look at the toy store, the Kay-Bee toys … we got lost, and I was looking around and I thought, ‘Uh-oh. I’m in trouble now.’ … I thought I was never going to see my family again. I was really scared, you know. And then this old man … came up to me … he was kind of bald on top … he had a like a ring of gray hair … and he had glasses … and then crying, and Mom coming up and saying, ‘Where were you? Don’t you ever do that again!’” What is amazing about this story is not that the boy was lost, but that, even though a participant remembers the event clearly occurring, it never happened. This beautifully illustrates that memory is not an accurate source of information. Memories sometimes are altered, false, and forgotten. ( If you would like to learn more about this and other myths check out 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology ...