Elizabeth Loftus: How reliable is your memory?

How reliable is your memory?

Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus studies memories. More precisely, she studies false memories, when people either remember things that didn't happen or remember them differently from the way they really were. It's more common than you might think, and Loftus shares some startling stories and statistics --  and raises some important ethical questions.

Memory is not a perfect recording but a fragile and flexible process, easily shaped by suggestion and outside influence. In one case, a man named Steve Titus was wrongfully convicted of rape based on a victim’s shifting memory, only later to be exonerated after real evidence emerged. Decades of research reveal that false memories can be implanted, sometimes with life-altering consequences. These findings challenge the trust placed in eyewitness testimony and reveal deep ethical questions about the power to shape what people remember.

Memory Can Be Rewritten—and Even Ruin Lives

*Eyewitness Testimony*

science

memory

cognitive science

psychology

brain

mental health

crime

neuroscience

sight

medical research

bioethics

ethics

TED Stage Talk