Metamemory or Memory Experiment

Metamemory is the knowledge and awareness of an individuals memory. This includes the processes and contents of the memory. The metamemory shows how much a person remembers and how confident an individual is about the accuracy of their memory. An example is when you forget the date of your sisters birthday, but you are 90% sure that the birthday is in May. Metamemory also consists of the strategies a person employs to help them remember things. If for example the sisters birth date is May 6th, then a person may make the mental note of that date. The fact is 6 follows 5 and this might help remember. To test how much I can remember, I took a CogLab experiment False Memory. This essay will, therefore, analyse the results of the experiment.

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Question 1

From the list, I was able to recognise 100% of the items in the original list item. The percentage recognised for unrelated lure was 2.083%, and I was not able to recognise any item in the related lure list item. These results can explain and illustrate false memory effect. Since I was able to report a word that was not related to the original list, it shows that I had a false memory. With the 100% recognition of the items in the original list items, it shows that my attention, perception and the quality of my memory is not bad at all. To be able to recognise and remember the words from the list; there were contributing factors. The words on the original list were few and this helped reduce the errors in the memory.

Question 2

From the test, I was able to recognise a word that was not in the original list and was unrelated to the original list. From the original list, distracters that fit the original words were given. The chances of picking a word from the unrelated lure were likely to occur. This is because the human memory does not store the words presented in isolation, but it groups them as wholes. The words seem to be abstracted when stored in the human memory and are all connected. When asked to recall the words from the original list, the memory activated other words that fit those from the original list, and this is why I was able to recognise a word that was not in the original list.

Question 3

From this experiment, it shows the importance of cognition in how well the memory can remember things. Cognition is very important because every aspect of the memory depends on it to some degree. For a person to understand decision making, attention, problem solving and perception, they need to know the limits and abilities of their memory. From the experiment, it is clear that memory accuracy cannot be assessed without presenting an objective evidence such as a photograph or a recording. The vividness of a person recalling what they have observed is not always an accurate indication of the truth of memory. This also shows that for the accuracy of detail, the memory cannot always be trusted. When people are required to remember names from a list, there are also personal and environmental factors that influence what the memory recalls. Such factors include guided imagery, hypnosis, leading questions and encouragements from the therapist. Displaying and telling the participants what to remember helps in reducing the false memory recognition and recall.