← all facts
memory
You assume your memories are accurate replays of reality.
Human memory is a reconstructive process where, under certain conditions, a retrieved memory can enter a labile state and undergo reconsolidation, making it susceptible to modification.
Modification does not occur automatically every time a memory is recalled; it is a context-dependent process.
Every time you look back, you rewrite the past.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Nader and Hardt, 2009, Nature Reviews Neuroscience
- What the check found
- While reconsolidation theory (Nader and Hardt) is well-supported, the claim falsely implies that this process is automatic and universal with every retrieval, rather than conditional.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.