Active learning ideas
This topic investigates the fallibility of human memory, focusing on its reconstructive nature. Students examine how memories are not perfect recordings but are built from various sources, making them susceptible to distortion. A key focus is Elizabeth Loftus’s research on leading questions and the implications for eyewitness testimony. This topic is crucial for developing critical thinking skills and understanding the intersection of psychology and the legal system.
Activity 01
An 'intruder' (another teacher or student) briefly enters the room to perform a specific set of actions. Later, students are asked 'leading' vs. 'neutral' questions about the event to see if their recall can be manipulated.
Why is human memory considered reconstructive rather than an exact recording?
Activity 02
Students hold a mini-trial where one group acts as the prosecution (relying on eyewitnesses) and the other as the defence (using Loftus’s research to challenge the testimony). They must use terms like 'reconstruction' and 'misinformation effect'.
How can leading questions alter an eyewitness's memory?
Activity 03
Display posters of famous cases where eyewitness testimony was proven wrong by DNA evidence. Students rotate and identify the specific factors (e.g., weapon focus, leading questions) that likely led to the false memory.
What are the real-world implications of false memories?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
If a witness is very confident, their memory must be accurate.
Students often equate confidence with truth. By participating in eyewitness simulations where they are 'confident but wrong,' they learn that there is actually a very weak correlation between witness certainty and memory accuracy.
Memory works like a video camera.
Students often think we just 'play back' events. Using the 'reconstruction' model in class activities helps them see that we actually store fragments and 'fill in the gaps' using our expectations and new information.
Methods used in this brief
Neural Basis of Learning and Memory
Explore the concept of neural plasticity and the changes that occur at the synapse during learning. Students will investigate long-term potentiation and long-term depression.
8 methodologies
Models of Learning
Compare and contrast classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. Students will apply these models to explain the acquisition of various behaviours.
8 methodologies
The Process of Memory
Examine the multi-store model of memory, focusing on sensory, short-term, and long-term memory. Students will also explore the brain regions involved in the storage of explicit and implicit memories.
8 methodologies