00:00This has happened to all of us at some point.
00:06You have a distinct memory of how something happened, only for others who were there to
00:09correct you, saying it went down differently.
00:11And while you might think that time may have simply eroded your memory of whatever happened,
00:15it turns out false memories can be formed much quicker.
00:18To reveal this, researchers set up experiments, specifically devised to test short-term memory.
00:23After asking participants to recall images a mere half second after viewing them, 20%
00:27of people had already formed a false short-term memory of what they had seen.
00:30Meanwhile, that number jumped to 30% after extending that time to just three seconds.
00:35And it turns out a lot of memory formation has to do with expectations.
00:39The experiments used the Western alphabet for the test.
00:42However, they would often show the letter in different orientations, like showing the
00:45letter D oriented like this.
00:47Since adults in the Western world are so used to seeing letters oriented correctly, they
00:51often remember them that way, whether they are or not.
00:54So what does this mean when extrapolated to real-life encounters?
00:57Well, a lot, actually.
00:58Previous studies have shown that human biases can inform what we think about individuals,
01:03specifically associating criminal activity with black faces, meaning expectations about
01:07race could lead to false memories being generated in the blink of an eye.
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