Exploring Mind, Memory, and the Psychology of Belief
Part II: Perception, Memory and the Courtroom
Genoni, Tom Jr.
http://www.csicop.org/si/show/exploring_mind_memory_and_the_psychology_of_belief2/
Date Written: 1995-03-01
Publisher: Skeptical Inquirer
Year Published: 1995
Pages: 7pp Resource Type: Article
So-called simple perceptions are anything but simple, and what we see is not always the true nature of reality. Perception is a creative act that involves not only the purely sensory apparatus of the brain but also such things as memory, emotion, and our hopes and fears.
Abstract:
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Excerpts:
Often we fill in our observations of reality with the way we think things should be, based on our expectations. And when these misperceptions become part of our memory, Beyerstein concluded, they can affect new perceptions and interpretations. Often we fill in our observations of reality with the way we think things should be, based on our expectations. And when these misperceptions become part of our memory, Beyerstein concluded, they can affect new perceptions and interpretations.
...
Ofshe said that prior to 1980 "no human society has ever noted this supposed ability to remove from consciousness vast amounts of information." He said that while there is no evidence for the existence of recovered memories, there is data establishing the dangers of hypnotherapy as well as the ease with which therapists can produce false memories.
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