Many people believe that human memory is unreliable and prone to constant errors. However, numerous studies show that memory, especially long-term memory, is quite accurate and stable. As IZ reports with reference to Psychology Today, studies by Marigold Linton and Willem Wagenar indicate that a person is able to accurately recall thousands of events from their lives, even after many years. An important feature of memory is its ability to retain accurate memories of emotionally significant moments, such as the first years at university or important life decisions that contribute to the formation of impressions for many years.
Despite the common belief that everyday events are quickly forgotten, humans are actually capable of remembering them with high accuracy. In one study conducted by William Brewer, participants recorded their daily activities after random “beeps.” The results of the study showed that even six months later, most participants accurately recalled the details of their actions at the time of the alert, indicating the ability of memory to retain ordinary events from everyday life.
In addition, memory does not fade quickly over time, as is often believed. Memory for important or even traumatic events can be preserved in vivid detail throughout life. This applies not only to stressful situations, but also to ordinary events that were important to a person. Memory retains such details even after a long time, and although access to them may become difficult, the memories themselves remain impressive and detailed.
We often associate errors in memory with its unreliability, but this is not always true. Cases where witnesses give inaccurate testimony due to stress or insufficient attention to detail are not an indicator of general unreliability of memory. Memory selectively records only those moments that are important to a person, and others may not be preserved due to their unimportance at a certain moment. This does not mean that memory is unreliable in general, because its functioning often depends on the context of the situation.
Recall that we previously wrote about why one dreams of falling from a height.
