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In Psychology today, there is constant interest in human memory and many people have different and contrasting viewpoints of how memory works. There has been much research to determine whether the human memory is reliable or not, and many models in the cognitive psychology have been created to help us answer the question. A couple examples of these include the Atkinson and Shiffrin multi-store memory model and Baddely and Hitch’s working memory model. The multi-store memory model is a psychological model of memory that proposes that memory involves a sequence of three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Baddely and Hitch’s theory of working memory was an attempt to correct the short-term memory aspect of the multi-store memory model. They proposed that short term memory is actually had three main components: the central executive, the phonological loop, and the visuo-spatial sketchpad. These two models attempted to help explain why our memory is faulty at times. An important question, how reliable is our memory, is still trying to be answered to this day, and many important studies have been carried out to try and find an answer.
A false memory is a memory which is a distortion of an actual experience, or a confabulation of an actual one. Many false memories involve confusing or mixing fragments of memory events, some of which may have happened at different times but which are remembered as occurring together. Many false memories involve an error in source memory. Some involve treating dreams as if they were playbacks of real experiences. Still other false memories are believed to be the result of the prodding, leading, and suggestions of therapists and counselors. Finally, Dr. Elizabeth Loftus has shown not only that it is possible to implant false memories, but that it is relatively easy to do so (Loftus, 1994). How can we know if our memories are true accounts of what really happened? Another problem with faulty memories is...