Factors Affecting Memory Accuracy

Memory is the process of encoding, storing and retrieving information in the brain. It plays an important role in our daily life. Without memory, we can not save past experiences, learn new things, and plan the future. Human memory is usually similar to computer memory. Unlike computer memory, human memory is a cognitive system. You can not encode and save everything properly as necessary. As Zimbardo, Johnson, and Weber (2006) suggest, human memory gains information and selectively converts it into meaningful patterns.

Memory is not a perfect processor, it is affected by many factors. Information on how to encode, save, and acquire may be damaged. Turning attention to new stimuli can reduce the amount of information encoded for preservation (Eysenck, 2012). In addition, physical damage to brain regions related to memory such as the hippocampus can endanger stored procedures (Squire, 2009). Finally, long-term memory information searches may be interrupted by declining long-term memory (Eysenck, 2012). Normal function, time-course attenuation, and brain damage can affect memory accuracy and capacity.

Several factors affect the accuracy of recognition without affecting reliability and other factors affect reliability without affecting recognition accuracy. The reconstruction process in memory (ie, the influence of posterior information on the stored memory) may affect the accuracy of identification without necessarily affecting reliability. Social impact processes (ie making decisions) affect reliability decisions, but have little impact on the accuracy of identification.

This paper evaluates the accuracy of assertions that should not rely on eyewitness testimony. Since this is basically based on memory, it is done by focusing on various factors that may affect human memory, in relation to witness testimony. Experiments and case studies related to factors of three different memory stages were identified and evaluated. Analyzed the exposure time during the interview and estimated incident factors such as time of incident, violence, concentration on weapons, witness's stress level. The result shows a very inaccurate correlation if the incident contains more trauma factors. There is some evidence to support the reliability of eyewitness testimonies, but this is also reflected in the retention process and search process studies.