How can older people profit from aerobic exercise and strength training?
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Psychology Twelfth Edition
Chapter 10 Memory
Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reconstructing the Past
• LO 10.1.A Explain why the workings of memory are
more reconstructive than people imagine them to be.
• LO 10.1.B Describe three conditions under which
confabulation is especially likely to occur.
• LO 10.1.C Summarize the evidence indicating that
eyewitness testimony can be susceptible to memory
errors.
• LO 10.1.D Explain the conditions under which children
might provide reliable versus unreliable eyewitness
testimony.
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The Manufacture of Memory (1 of 3)
• Unlike a digital recorder or video camera, human
memory is highly selective and is reconstructive.
• It is more like watching a few unconnected clips
and then figuring out what the rest of the recording
must have been like.
• People add, delete, and change elements in ways
that help them make sense of information and
events.
Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Manufacture of Memory (2 of 3)
• In reconstructing their memories, people often
draw on many sources.
• They take bits and pieces and build one integrated
account.
• They often experience source misattribution, the
inability to distinguish information stored during an
event from information added later.
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The Manufacture of Memory (3 of 3)
• Shocking or tragic events do hold a special place
in memory.
– So do some unusual, exhilaratingly happy events.
• Yet even these vivid flashbulb memories tend to
become less accurate or complete over time.
• People typically remember the gist of a startling,
emotional event.
