assignment 6

Psychology 1001 has covered numerous topics this semester. It has outlined the important parts and the more commonly known pieces of psychological research and thinking. We haven't gone too far in depth on many of the subjects due to the large amount of material covered, but I will remember the subject of false memories. This topic was covered in discussion sections a few weeks back and outlined the case of Paul Ingram and his family. When we reviewed this in discussion it we were required to go further in depth on the ideas of false memories and how situations like this come about. The case of Paul Ingram centered on the facts of how his daughters accused him of abuse and he denied the accusations right away, but as more and more came forth from his daughters he began to believe them and doubt himself. The daughters accusations were meritless, but soon Ingram admitted to the charges. Paul Ingram was a religious man and he came to the belief that he had taught his daughters not to lie and thus they must be telling the truth and he eventually admitted guilt to all charges. Remembering the ideas of false memories in 5 years will be something that I know will still stick with me. The case of Paul Ingram is the main reason why I believe this to be. In a case like this where an innocent man spent over 20 years in prison makes me wonder how many other cases false memories may have played a part in an innocent individual admitting guilt. As we ventured further into the subject and got to flash bulb memories this made me wonder more on the whole idea of traumatizing events and how we are able to imprint memories i.e. flashbulb memories, or in some cases completely wipe the memory from our conscious. All in all false memories play a large part in proper investigation and the ability to back up claims whether true or false.