Introduction to Psychology

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8.3 Accuracy and Inaccuracy in Memory and Cognition

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Outline the variables that can influence the accuracy of our memory for events.


2. Explain how schemas can distort our memories.


3. Describe the representativeness heuristic and the availability heuristic and explain how they may lead to errors in
   judgment.

As we have seen, our memories are not perfect. They fail in part due to our inadequate encoding
and storage, and in part due to our inability to accurately retrieve stored information. But
memory is also influenced by the setting in which it occurs, by the events that occur to us after
we have experienced an event, and by the cognitive processes that we use to help us remember.
Although our cognition allows us to attend to, rehearse, and organize information, cognition may
also lead to distortions and errors in our judgments and our behaviors.

In this section we consider some of the cognitive biases that are known to influence
humans. Cognitive biases are errors in memory or judgment that are caused by the inappropriate
use of cognitive processes (Table 8.3 "Cognitive Processes That Pose Threats to Accuracy"). The
study of cognitive biases is important both because it relates to the important psychological
theme of accuracy versus inaccuracy in perception, and because being aware of the types of
errors that we may make can help us avoid them and therefore improve our decision-making
skills.

Table 8.3 Cognitive Processes That Pose Threats to Accuracy
Cognitive process Description Potential threat to accuracy

Source monitoring

The ability to accurately identify the source of a

memory

Uncertainty about the source of a memory may

lead to mistaken judgments.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to verify and confirm our existing

memories rather than to challenge and

disconfirm them

Once beliefs become established, they become

self-perpetuating and difficult to change.

Functional fixedness

When schemas prevent us from seeing and using

information in new and nontraditional ways

Creativity may be impaired by the overuse of

traditional, expectancy-based thinking.