Question

According to the research they cite, Loftus and Laney show that memory isn't just fallible, but rather that we are prone to strongly believe and develop elaborate narratives around events that did not occur. If this is the case, what does that say about the basis of most of our knowledge?

Answer 1

The vast amounts of knowledge we have acquired over the years is stored in our long term memory system but as revealed by Loftis and Laney’s groundbreaking research this system is far from accurate. Human memory was previously conceptualised as akin to a recording machine that stores events as they occur, however we now know that memory is subject to great amounts of distortion based on internal and external factors. We can this never be completely certain of what we remember from our past, especially of autobiographical memories as what we recollect depends on what narratives suit our current context, and not what had originally occurred.