{"id":64406,"date":"2022-04-11T16:52:36","date_gmt":"2022-04-11T20:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=64406"},"modified":"2022-04-15T17:19:38","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T21:19:38","slug":"fake-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake Memories: Why and How Do They Occur?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Do you ever remember an event differently than someone else who was there? How do fake memories form in the brain?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A fake memory is one that is remembered differently from how it happened or one in which details of a thing or event are wrong. But, don&#8217;t worry\u2014everybody has fake memories. It\u2019s part of how the human <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-are-the-regions-of-the-brain\/\">brain functions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s why your memory may be playing tricks on you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-your-brain-assumes-information\"><strong>Your Brain Assumes Information<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Daniel Gilbert in <em>Stumbling on Happiness<\/em>, when you summon a memory, <strong>your mind supplements existing pieces of the memory with assumed information<\/strong>, sometimes resulting in a fake memory. Your mind must do this because you don\u2019t store memories as complete experiences of an event, which would include a massive amount of sensory detail, feelings, and thoughts. Memories are only stored <em>snippets<\/em> and <em>narratives<\/em> of the event, with many details omitted. This means that your memories are made up of both true-to-life and assumed (potentially false) information that fills the omissions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, if you spend a day at the zoo, all you might store in memory from that detail-rich experience is a recollection of it being too hot and the phrase \u201cpandas asleep.\u201d Your brain wouldn\u2019t store the sensory experience of the heat and the crystal-clear visuals of the sleeping pandas. When you summon that memory, your brain fills in these gaps with assumptions of what belongs there: that the ice cream melted quickly, that the sleeping pandas were cute, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: To at least partially circumvent this issue, we might try to strengthen our memories so we don\u2019t rely as much on fabricated information. In <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/moonwalking-with-einstein\"><em>Moonwalking With Einstein<\/em><\/a>, Joshua Foer says you can do this by <em>storing<\/em> memories more intentionally. First, <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/moonwalking-with-einstein\/part-2#the-method-of-loci-and-memory-palaces\">visualize the information you want to remember and then mentally place that visual in a location<\/a> you\u2019re familiar with, like your home. For example, if you want to remember the ostriches at the zoo, visualize them and then place that image in your backyard.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-your-brain-fills-in-gaps-in-memories-retroactively-using-new-information\"><strong>Your Brain Fills in Gaps in Memories Retroactively Using New Information<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only does your brain fill in gaps in your memories with assumed information, writes Gilbert, <strong>it also incorporates <\/strong><strong><em>new<\/em><\/strong><strong> information into the memory retroactively<\/strong>. A suggestion in the present that something happened in the past can become a permanent part of your memory, even if it didn\u2019t happen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s say that after having been to the zoo, someone suggests that the tigers were particularly ferocious that day. Even if you don\u2019t recall what the tigers were like, you\u2019ll likely incorporate their ferociousness into your memory, whether they were ferocious or not.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Gilbert presents the mind\u2019s tendency to incorporate new information into memory as problematic. Yet this tendency can sometimes be helpful and is often a necessary part of the learning process. When you fit new information into existing knowledge in your memory, <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/make-it-stick\/6#memory-distortions\">you build new neural connections and enhance your initial understanding<\/a> of a topic, write Henry Roediger and Mark McDaniel in <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/make-it-stick\"><em>Make It Stick<\/em><\/a>. For instance, if you know Jane Austen wrote in the 18th century, and <em>then <\/em>learn that women were bound to strict gender rules at that time that made it less common for women to be published, you can incorporate the new information into your existing knowledge of Jane Austen and conclude that she was pushing gender boundaries.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you ever remember an event differently than someone else who was there? How do fake memories form in the brain? A fake memory is one that is remembered differently from how it happened or one in which details of a thing or event are wrong. But, don&#8217;t worry\u2014everybody has fake memories. It\u2019s part of how the human brain functions. Here&#8217;s why your memory may be playing tricks on you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":59883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,160],"tags":[605],"class_list":["post-64406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-science","tag-stumbling-on-happiness","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Fake Memories: Why and How Do They Occur? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you ever remember events differently from others who were there? This is called a fake memory\u2014and it&#039;s totally normal. Here&#039;s why.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fake Memories: Why and How Do They Occur?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you ever remember events differently from others who were there? This is called a fake memory\u2014and it&#039;s totally normal. Here&#039;s why.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-11T20:52:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-15T21:19:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/thinking-confused.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\"},\"headline\":\"Fake Memories: Why and How Do They Occur?\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-11T20:52:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-15T21:19:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/\"},\"wordCount\":585,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/thinking-confused.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Stumbling on Happiness\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Psychology\",\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/\",\"name\":\"Fake Memories: Why and How Do They Occur? - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fake-memories\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/thinking-confused.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-11T20:52:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-15T21:19:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Do you ever remember events differently from others who were there? 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