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 | | From: | Andy | | Subject: | Visual recollection and patterns | | Date: | Tue, 11 Jan 2005 18:30:19 -0000 |
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 | Has anyone done any research into whether when we remember 'video' ie moving
images, we instead remember snapshots and placeholders? eg, instead of
remembering in glorious technicolour a sequence of a car going past we
instead remember 'car', 'high street', 'people' and interpolate (or
extrapolate) from that when we try and remember?
Obviously we might assign 'dark green' or 'Ford' to the car, so that when it
comes to remembering we have more to work on. Would a car afficionado
remember more because he 'knows' that it had certain trim, which means it's
a model 1997 and then extrapolates the rest of the car in the scene (even if
he 'remembers' wrong as a result)?
Where does perfect image retention end and the break-down into components
begin? If at all? Do policemen get used to linking more factors to scenes
than normal people (eg remembering colours and juxtapositions) because they
have greater need to recall it? What is the impact of remembering large
amounts of additional but usually spurious data on risk analysis and
judgement?
If there are any resources on this on the net I'd be interested in taking a
look, and no, I'm not a lawyer, although I probably sound like one asking
specific questions like that...
Cheers,
Andy
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| | From: | Wolf Kirchmeir | | Subject: | Re: Visual recollection and patterns | | Date: | Wed, 12 Jan 2005 11:45:19 -0500 |
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| Andy wrote:
> Has anyone done any research into whether when we remember 'video' ie moving
> images, we instead remember snapshots and placeholders? eg, instead of
> remembering in glorious technicolour a sequence of a car going past we
> instead remember 'car', 'high street', 'people' and interpolate (or
> extrapolate) from that when we try and remember?
[snip]
Experiments done with eyewitnesses suggest very strongly that your
surmise is correct. The one I recall showed films of two versions of a
mugging, one of black perp, white victim, one of white perp, black
victim, to two different groups. The experimenters then asked the
viewers to recall what they had seen, first within the hour, then a week
later, then 2 weeks later. After 2 weeks, most people in the 2nd group
"remembered" a black perp, white victim. It seems obvious (top me at
least) that remembering consists of reconstructing a story from a few
stimuli, which in this case include preconceptions about the race of
perps and victims. A more precise account would talk about remembering
as chained behaviour.
BTW, I _still_ find myself noticing when I see a black actor playing a
professional in a secondary-character role. A lifetime's stereotyping is
hard to overcome.
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| | From: | Andy | | Subject: | Re: Visual recollection and patterns | | Date: | Wed, 12 Jan 2005 17:16:33 -0000 |
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"Wolf Kirchmeir" wrote in message
news:YscFd.25627$b64.701542@news20.bellglobal.com...
> Andy wrote:
>> Has anyone done any research into whether when we remember 'video' ie
>> moving images, we instead remember snapshots and placeholders? eg,
>> instead of remembering in glorious technicolour a sequence of a car going
>> past we instead remember 'car', 'high street', 'people' and interpolate
>> (or extrapolate) from that when we try and remember?
>
> [snip]
>
> Experiments done with eyewitnesses suggest very strongly that your surmise
> is correct. The one I recall showed films of two versions of a mugging,
> one of black perp, white victim, one of white perp, black victim, to two
> different groups. The experimenters then asked the viewers to recall what
> they had seen, first within the hour, then a week later, then 2 weeks
> later. After 2 weeks, most people in the 2nd group "remembered" a black
> perp, white victim. It seems obvious (top me at least) that remembering
> consists of reconstructing a story from a few stimuli, which in this case
> include preconceptions about the race of perps and victims. A more precise
> account would talk about remembering as chained behaviour.
>
> BTW, I _still_ find myself noticing when I see a black actor playing a
> professional in a secondary-character role. A lifetime's stereotyping is
> hard to overcome.
That's certainly true. Is there a name given to this kind of recollection,
or a particular field which covers it? I'd like to do some further reading
on it. If it's just basic A-level stuff (high school for the non-UK) that's
fine.
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| | From: | Wolf Kirchmeir | | Subject: | Re: Visual recollection and patterns | | Date: | Wed, 12 Jan 2005 15:08:13 -0500 |
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| Andy wrote:
> "Wolf Kirchmeir" wrote in message
> news:YscFd.25627$b64.701542@news20.bellglobal.com...
>
>>Andy wrote:
>>
>>>Has anyone done any research into whether when we remember 'video' ie
>>>moving images, we instead remember snapshots and placeholders? eg,
>>>instead of remembering in glorious technicolour a sequence of a car going
>>>past we instead remember 'car', 'high street', 'people' and interpolate
>>>(or extrapolate) from that when we try and remember?
>>
>>[snip]
>>
>>Experiments done with eyewitnesses suggest very strongly that your surmise
>>is correct. The one I recall showed films of two versions of a mugging,
>>one of black perp, white victim, one of white perp, black victim, to two
>>different groups. The experimenters then asked the viewers to recall what
>>they had seen, first within the hour, then a week later, then 2 weeks
>>later. After 2 weeks, most people in the 2nd group "remembered" a black
>>perp, white victim. It seems obvious (top me at least) that remembering
>>consists of reconstructing a story from a few stimuli, which in this case
>>include preconceptions about the race of perps and victims. A more precise
>>account would talk about remembering as chained behaviour.
>>
>>BTW, I _still_ find myself noticing when I see a black actor playing a
>>professional in a secondary-character role. A lifetime's stereotyping is
>>hard to overcome.
>
>
> That's certainly true. Is there a name given to this kind of recollection,
> or a particular field which covers it? I'd like to do some further reading
> on it. If it's just basic A-level stuff (high school for the non-UK) that's
> fine.
Google on "memory studies university of toronto". That should get you
started.
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