Elizabeth Loftus studies false memories. Counter to what is mostly portrayed in the media, false memories do not deal with what people forget, but what people “remember”. It can also be known as constructive memory, which means that memory can be constructed and reconstructed, in other words, it is memory that is “contaminated”.
Studies show that when people are fed with misinformation, some experience that what they may have had (memories) can be distorted. Contaminated, and even possibly completely chanted.
In the 1990s, many patients were going to therapies with an issue and exiting with another different one completely. Often leaving with an extremely, horrendous one, but with no evidence that it happened, due to exposure to false memory.
In fact, if one attempts to plant a false memory into a kid, it succeeded in one-fourth of the subjects. This finding caused many “repressed memory therapists” to feel under attack, as it is incredibly similar to their therapy methods. False memories can cause repercussions and can affect later thoughts and behaviors.
However, false memories do not necessarily have to be bad or unpleasant, as the extreme cases show. It can also be warm and fuzzy. The study of false memories is still under discussion and is controversial. Some believe it to be taking the study to a whole other level, whilst others believe that it is an important phenomenon to be studied. It is important to note that most evidence showing for this is in fact positive evidence, and the extent of it is still in the process of being discovered.
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References:
Loftus, Elizabeth/ TedTalk. How reliable is your memory? Accessed from https://www.ted.com/talks/eliz
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