Don’t remember? Or don’t think you remember?
September 15th, 2011 - 1:42 pm ICT by IANSWashington, Sep 15 (IANS) One day you notice a group of boys passing by in a park. The next day you learn police are looking for someone to identify him as a suspect in a mugging case. Even if you think you can’t make a positive identification, a new study suggests that the mind is likely to remember.
According to the study, such information will make its way into your memory any way, whether we are able to recall it or not, the journal Psychological Science reports.
In this case, the failure to make a positive identification could be owing to the fact that memory is not strong enough to support a yes response, says Anat Maril of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
“Therefore, the trick is to examine how confidently people say no to the unattended information they are trying to remember.”
The classic opinion voiced from the beginning of modern psychology has been, “What you don’t pay attention to isn’t remembered”, says Yaakov Hoffman of the Hebrew University and Bar-Ilan University.
Hoffman concludes that perhaps everything we see makes its way into our memory, such as billboard ads when driving by or perimeter signage at sport arenas.
But we need to know how to ask, and we need to carefully listen to the answer: “I don’t think I remember” does not mean “I remember not”!
- Depressed partner cannot perceive the other's feelings - Mar 31, 2011
- Women's depression can erode their intimate relationships - Mar 31, 2011
- Recalling an event alters details - Sep 20, 2012
- Watching others' action can make you feel that you did it yourself - Sep 15, 2010
- Mothers have sharper memories after childbirth - Aug 06, 2012
- Racy women turn a man to racy cars, gadgets - Sep 13, 2010
- 'Arab Spring will lead to long, cold Arab Winter' - Dec 08, 2011
- Scientists find "predator" corals that eat jellyfish - Nov 22, 2009
- Diet supplement cuts down fat, sugar absorption - May 24, 2011
- Vivid memories retain freshness over decades - Aug 21, 2012
- 'Cuddle chemical' rush is what turns men into fathers - Aug 16, 2010
- Nano drug promising in treatment of chronic wounds - Feb 09, 2011
- Language may influence how you think about others - Jul 13, 2010
- Why isn't the answer always on the tip of the tongue? - Jun 17, 2012
- Traumatic experience, silence linked - Feb 05, 2012
Tags: arenas, bar ilan university, billboard ads, failure, hebrew university of jerusalem, hoffman, maril, memory, pay attention, perimeter, psychological science, psychology, science reports, signage, study suggests that, t pay