Memory errors

Memory gaps and errors refer to the incorrect recall, or complete loss, of information in the memory system for a specific detail and/or event. Memory errors may include remembering events that never occurred, or remembering them differently from the way they actually happened. These errors or gaps can occur due to a number of different reasons, including the emotional involvement in the situation, expectations and environmental changes. As the retention interval between encoding and retrieval of the memory lengthens, there is an increase in both the amount that is forgotten, and the likelihood of a memory error occurring.

There are several different types memory errors, in which people may inaccurately recall details of events that did not occur, or they may simply misattribute the source of a memory. In other instances, imagination of a certain event can create confidence that such an event actually occurred. Causes of such memory errors may be due to certain cognitive factors, such as spreading activation, or to physiological factors, including brain damage, age or emotional factors. Furthermore, memory errors have been reported in individuals with schizophrenia and depression. The consequences of memory errors can have significant implications. Two main areas of concern regarding memory errors are in eyewitness testimony and cases of child abuse.

The feeling that a person gets when they know the information, but can not remember a specific detail, like an individuals name or the name of a place is described as the "tip-of-the-tongue" experience.The tip-of-the-tongue experience is a classic example of blocking, which is a failure to retrieve information that is available in memory even though you are trying to produce it. The information you are trying to remember has been encoded and stored, and a cue is available that would usually trigger its recollection. The information has not faded from memory and a person is not forgetting to retrieve the information. What a person is experiencing is a complete retrieval failure, which makes blocking especially frustrating. Blocking occurs especially often for the names of people and places, because their links to related concepts and knowledge are weaker than for common names. The experience of blocking occurs more often as we get older; this "tip of the tongue" experience is a common complaint amongst 60- and 70-year-olds.

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