Week 2 Post 2 - Memory Reliability

Memory can be affected through bias and your prior knowledge. Memory occurs in 3 stages- Encoding, storage and retrieval. These 3 steps each  have flaws which can affect how you remember events. When events are encoded, you may only remember specific pieces of the memory, and your brain can fill in the rest with prior knowledge, what makes sense to have happened, not necessarily what did happen. Memories can easily be forgotten, especially specific details. Forensic Hypnosis is a tool used to help retrieve specific details a person may otherwise deem insignificant. This can be helpful in solving cases, especially those where significant trauma was involved.