00:03This has happened to all of us at some point you have a distinct memory of how something happened only
00:08for others who were there to correct you saying it went down differently and while you might think that time
00:13may have simply eroded your memory of whatever happened it turns out false memories can be formed much quicker to
00:18reveal this researchers set up experiments specifically devised to test short-term memory after asking participants to recall images a
00:25mere half second after viewing them 20% of people had already formed a false short-term memory of what
00:29happened.
00:30Meanwhile that number jumped to 30% after extending that time to just three seconds and it turns out a
00:36lot of memory formation has to do with expectations the experiments used the western alphabet for the test however they
00:42would often show the letter in different orientations like showing the letter D oriented like this since adults in the
00:48western world are so used to seeing letters oriented correctly they often remember them that way whether they are or
00:54not so what does this mean when extrapolated to real life encounters well a lot actually previous studies have shown
00:59that human
00:59human biases can inform what we think about individuals specifically associating criminal activity with black faces meaning expectations about race
01:07could lead to false memories being generated in the blink of an eye
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