+Brooklyn Bradley - Exactly! I would argue ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is a bed rock foundational principal.

+Benjamin Michaels - I suspect you would feel differently if you are ever wrongly accused of such a horrid crime as rape.

------------------
On the subject of Justice

”That it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer, is a Maxim that has been long and generally approved.” ~ Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) in a letter to Benjamin Vaughan, March 14, 1785.—The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Albert H. Smyth, vol. 9, p. 293 (1906).

Franklin was echoing Voltaire, ”that generous Maxim, that ’tis much more Prudence to acquit two Persons, tho’ actually guilty, than to pass Sentence of Condemnation on one that is virtuous and innocent.” ~Zadig, chapter 6, p. 53 (1749, reprinted 1974).

Also, Sir William Blackstone, in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, 9th ed., book 4, chapter 27, p. 358 (1783, reprinted 1978), says, ”For the law holds, that it is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer.”
----------------

+Jordan Francique - I think it is a righteous duty for someone - who has had their life, liberty and inalienable rights stolen from them, wrongly imprisoned and name trashed so that he would always be looked at with suspicion for the rest of his life, impacting his ability to find work - to do something about it. To right the wrong, to clear his name.

I think it is unfair for the presenter to portray him as “bitter”, (she didn’t go through the ordeal and her name isn’t trashed for the rest of her life) as well as his fiancé who I suspect did not understanding his righteous anger. I bet if his fiancé showed a bit of understanding and willingness to help him clear his name he wouldn’t have been so ‘angry’.

There is something called righteous indignation and you can be angry without sinning. I believe he had just cause to have both. He was doing the right thing to try and right the wrong by using the very system that unjustly not only convicted him but ruined not only his present life but his future life as well.

@notsunkyet

6y↑28

+Ameerali Abdeali - The only bad, random thing that happened to Steve Titus was the initial sloppy and incompetent police work when he got pulled over for driving a car that "sort of resembled" the one reported by the rape victim.

From there on out it was a concerted effort of collusion and corruption in the criminal justice system, the police, the prosecuting attorney, those who coached the victim to make sure Titus was convicted at all costs, based solely on the victim's changed story.

Yes, he made a choice, and as I've said above, I believe it was the only duty-bound choice to make. To try to right the grievous wrong that was purposefully done to him. It is our duty to bring to light these injustices that show not only where the system is broken, but also the willful incompetence and corruption of those who have sworn a duty to uphold, protect and defend our inalienable rights.

Titus' inalienable rights were trashed, along with his life as well as his future life too. He would always be held in suspicion and his ability to find decent work severely hindered.

Our - your - rights do not and cannot stand for themselves, we - you - must stand for them. That is what Titus was attempting to do, not just for himself but for all of us. I do not find that to be the actions of someone who is bitter, righteously indignant, but not bitter. Unfortunately, it appears that he did not have the support he needed from his fiance or anyone else. I dare anyone to go through what Titus did and not have any support from loved ones and see how well their health fairs.

Because of all of the people before us, that were willfully and wrongly convicted, decided to take the easy way out and simply shrugged their shoulders and moved on, they failed to do their civic duty to stand upon and defend their inalienable rights against the corruption. That is why we now find ourselves losing them at alarming speed with little to no over-sight by the "people" and no accountability to those in the justice system who habitually abuse them.

Now days whenever someone tries to assert their rights, more often than not, the police officer 'cops' an attitude and purposefully goes about escalating the situation in order to make the person pay for asserting their rights. Why? Because the police feel that their authority (their ego) has been challenged. Why would that be? Because of the training that they are given. The system is rotten and it needs to be corrected and that can only happen when 'the people' do the difficult civic duty and stand up for their rights.

@Racingirl911

7y↑3.3K

When I was in college I did a project for my psychology class, and the results of my project even surprised and shocked me!

With my professor's permission, I did my project during one of our classes. For my project, at approximately halfway through the one hour class, I had a friend of mine suddenly, and quite aggressively, run into the room and "steal" my purse that I had placed on my desk, which was located in the front row of the classroom. And, although my friend didn't say anything as she aggressively grabbed my purse and then quickly turned around and made her escape out of the same door she had just entered, I yelled just one word—"HEY!!!!!"

Well, immediately after my friend grabbed my purse and ran out the door, I handed a short one page questionnaire to every student (approx. 50 students) in the classroom that day. Most of the questions were about the physical description of the "thief". And, the rest of the questions focused on what they felt they saw happen. The answers that pertained to the physical description of my friend varied dramatically! My friend was as follows:
1. Gender--female
2. Height--5'7"
3. Weight--160 pounds
4. Clothes--She was wearing a black "hoodie", and blue jeans
5. She had shoulder length hair that was a very dark brown, and it could be seen quite well, despite the fact that she had pulled the hat of the hoodie up onto her head.

Most of the students said that she was a "he", who was anywhere from 5 feet tall to over 6 feet. She was said to weigh somewhere around 120 pounds to 200 pounds. She was also described as having red, dark blonde and even black color hair. And, with regards to what they described she was wearing, the answers once again were as varied as the answers in all of the previous questions. Oh, and when asked if they heard any sounds or words spoken during this incident, some stated that nothing was said, while others said they had "clearly" heard the "thief yell something to me.

So, after viewing all of the data I had garnered from my "Eyewitness" project, I came to the only conclusion that could be drawn from the overall results of my project--without a doubt, eyewitness accounts were unreliable and should never be accepted as any real type of "evidence" in a criminal trial. And, given those results, I truly have to wonder how many innocent people have been to, or are currently in prison based on any degree of "eyewitness accounts"...

@ayayla7846

This is fascinating and truly terrifying at the same time. More terrifying actually, because the implications for nefarious uses (which is already being practiced) are...well, terrifying. This makes me wonder...are there ways to protect my mind?
And can you find out, without a shadow of a doubt if you yourself or a person close to you has been manipulated in such a way? I'm specifically thinking about people that were or are in relationships with abusive, manipulative partners who tried/try to isolate them and might have suggested/suggest their parent or another close person has abused them or done something else really bad and that means they should cut off contact with that person, isolating the victim further.

Banning the use of this terrifying technique would not work, because
1) people would ignore it (not all but enough),
2) How do we know it's really been stopped if memories can be falsily planted/rewritten?

On the other hand, using false memories to erase trauma or make it easier to cope, thus erasing the need to take antipsychotics or just making it possible for the traumatized, suffering person to have a peaceful, pleasant life from thereon in...why not? Of course it would need to be with the subjects full understanding and cooperation, also it would need to be under strict rules and done by a person who truly has the subjects best interests at heart and does not do it for profit. Also, perhaps the true memories (or what the subject thinks as true) should be written down and preserved and the subject should be allowed to suggest the false memories/rewrites.
Also, planting a harmless false memory in a child that would otherwise have to fight obesity and other illnesses for life, or never watch what they eat, never be successful...again, why not? As long as it makes the quality of life better for said child and, again, isn't done for nefarious reasons (that includes creating a clone of yourself that thinks and reacts like you want it to, always agreeing with you) or self-gain, I think it's actually good.

Now before you get onto my case here, I do know that in this world, ensuring such things as the person truly acting out of the goodness of their heart without any notions of self-gain is practically impossible. I'm NOT saying there aren't such genuinely good-hearted people, what I mean is KNOWING FOR SURE the person you're talking with/thinking of is such a genuinely good-hearted person with their subjects best interests at heart and PROVING it, is impossible. If it were possible though...then using false memories to ease or even erase trauma, or instill healthy behaviours in children would be great.

All comments from YouTube:

@emiliofregoso1936

3y↑343

who else here for their psychology homework ?

@j.c.8677

26w↑5

Me🙃

@jiayicheng1288

24w↑5

😅

@virginiacampos7264

24w↑4

Yup lol 😂

@Torien-024

24w

@@virginiacampos7264frfr

@Thurick

23w↑2

me lol

27 More Replies...

@DavidFMayerPhD

6y↑1.8K

In Scottish Law, witnesses are NOT PERMITTED to hear the testimony of other witnesses to prevent contamination of testimony. This has been the case for HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

@minimanofiron2501

6y↑69

Scottish law seems to be awesome then.

@JeffryMinecraft

6y↑73

America is by far the most socially backwards "westernized" country. I hate living here.

@DavidFMayerPhD

6y↑35

Ben Rosenberg:
There is a simple solution to your problem. Go somewhere else.

@chinookvalley

6y↑23

@DavidFMayerPhD Have a spare room? I'm on my way.

@JeffryMinecraft

6y↑15

DavidFMayerPhD
To tell you the truth I've been genuinely considering that lately

35 More Replies...

@joslinnick

9y↑1K

This is why I laugh when people say, "Well, if you didn't do it, then you don't have anything to worry about." I'm sorry, but there have simply been too many miscarriages of justice for me to believe that for a second.

@frannyzooey11

9y↑8

Nick Joslinn God , do I agree with you.

@rogerwakefield8389

8y↑36

The other one I hate is when. Peop;e say "the Truth will set YOU FREE"??.. Well in this Decade, that does NOT seem to be the Case.. CRAZY High Rise Epidemic of Fabricated Allegtions / Accusations etc..

@maiajintcharadze7485

8y↑5

+Nick Joslin When people say that it doesn't make me laugh but it makes me sad

@joslinnick

8y↑5

Maia Jincharadze Yeah, either sad or afraid.

@moriartywalksfree3893

8y↑1

Are you in trouble ?

5 More Replies...

@bensjammin9

9y↑1.4K

Titus' story is so sad... I feel horrible for what happened to him and his family... He was gonna probably have a long and happy life with his wife and family, but the horribly broken justice system tore that life from him and destroyed his life to the point of death... :(

@ItsAllCopasetic

6y↑12

It is sad, initially, but he made the choice to let this experience hold him back and ruin his own life in the process

@notsunkyet

6y↑32

@bruceparr1678

6y↑32

@Benjamin Michaels Better a hundred guilty men go free than we imprison one innocent man. This is the basis of western justice.

@Ameerali27

6y↑6

Many bad things can happen to us in life. Yes it can affect us and make us take up drink and drugs. But I believe that its still a choice. Its easy to blame circumstances and therefore avoid responsiblitiy and fel less guilty about the mess we got ourselves into. Its hard to take a big measure of the blame oneself go introspective and see at which point we took a wrong turn when we could have summoned our internal strength and avoided it. And to ensure that we learn from our experience and be the better for it. Becoming bitter and resentful is also a choice. He made that choice and lost everything. Its sad really.

@notsunkyet

6y↑28

17 More Replies...

@Racingirl911

7y↑3.3K

@hofifut

6y↑52

nice story

@steffenfrost

6y↑181

Clever experiment, kudos for creativity.

@ronineternales6702

6y↑243

It would be very interesting to see what they remember 1 year, 10 years, maybe even 36 years later.

@ericpreble674

6y↑97

Can’t remember when it happened, where it happened, if it was 2 or 4 men, how she got there or how she left. But Dr Ford can 100% perfectly remember it was Kavanaugh who groped her...

@brianmathisinmontana

6y↑126

A classic is to ask a question with a "the" and an "a". For example, did you the the gun versus did you see a gun. Very different results.

56 More Replies...

@TheGerogero

9y↑1.4K

People who sue scientists for talking about their research... Sigh.

@yourinternetfriend6778

6y↑6

It's better to just get sued than to get physically assaulted. ;-)

@Pete856

6y↑67

A lot of people would say they'd rather be physically assaulted than go through years of emotional stress caused by a law suit.

@CE183

6y↑49

Yea, I'd much rather be punched in the face than go through years of pain and wasted time defending myself against a lawsuit.

@yourinternetfriend6778

6y↑5

Depends on the suit, snowflakes. In her case it's likely just a matter of generating publicity, collect lots of money through crowd funding and then hire some lawyers to deal with the issue.

@usmh

6y↑21

Wooow, that's a heavy accusation. I suppose you have a very good reason for making it?

16 More Replies...

@codediporpal

6y↑411

I went to one of those "EST" like events when I was about 20. They had us recall childhood trauma. I recalled my sister almost dying in the hospital when she was an infant. I could even remember waiting in the hospital waiting room crying. Maybe 10 years later was talking about childhood and mentioned this to my father and sister. There was no such event. My sister had only been to the hospital for routine problems. I'd lived with a false memory for 10 years. I have other false memories in my head that I now know are false. And yet they are memories. It's truly bizarre.

@estelanak

5y↑19

I do have a false memory of seeing a UFO, hahaha! There was a fair when I was a child, right down the street and me and my cousins went further and there was a field which we saw the UFO. As soon as it landed, me and my cousins ran away in terror. The thing is... There was never a fair down the street, there was no reason to be any fair or party down there. I never asked, but sure they would call me crazy by saying that.

@omega3motorsports132

Hey

@walkervreelandproductions7866

3y↑6

The human mind is fascinating, don’t you think?

@edgarpayne8673

@WinterBornActual

6y↑69

I am 60 years of age. About 10 years ago I started to mistrust my memory. Not things like appointments, when I lost my keys, but experiences that I think happened to me, how my memories changed. I have seen other things like this and am not surprised at all. Years ago, my wife and I both witnessed a motorbike accident. Our memories different in critical matters. We need to be VERY careful. I hear. 'I remember such and such a thing happening vividly'. I am often sceptical

@carolinewall2528

5y↑75

I love how she is passionate about her line of work and it is very evident in her presentation.

@heteroerectus

6y↑227

This reminds me of a controversy that was just in the media. I wish I could remember what it was...

@glennso47

6y↑16

e g When you get older, the memory is the second thing to go. I wish I could recall what the first thing was.🤔

@stevenbristol7797

6y↑16

Where am I?

@chinookvalley

6y↑18

As my dear old father used to say: "What goat?"

@justabitofjunkie2595

6y↑6

I think you're thinking about that turtle that they made a wheelchair for out of Legos.

@prabhleenreen3594

lmaoooo stoppppp

@threadysparrow

10y↑392

eyewitness testimony shouldn't even be admissible in court. People who claim that they know exactly what they saw beyond a doubt, usually do not know what they saw because someone who actually remembered would have at least a few doubts. And people who have been raped are more prone to creating false memories because false memories serve to defend us from the horror of the unknown. If you can put a face on the abuser, it feels better than not knowing what the abuser looked like.

@Cara.314

6y↑24

testimony is only useful for comparing against forensic evidence. and the person giving the testimony must know nothing of the forensic evidence for it to be useful.

@slehcyo8223

6y↑12

many times the eye witness helps catch someone & it's the right person

@elmarco777

6y↑6

Unless you know the person or have seen them around, it can't be trusted.

@adamhonestyanddecency5054

6y↑15

Patrick I think your first sentence is overly broad.
Memories are neither one hundred percent accurate nor one hundred percent inaccurate.
Eyewitness accounts can be used as a part of the puzzle, taking into account the understading of their limitations.

@0xCAFEF00D

6y↑2

Elaborate. What meta-studies have you seen concerning what evidence leads to conviction that justify your position?

6 More Replies...

@peterfaigl7876

9y↑400

Such a humanist. This lady is a rare spirit indeed. I hope she stays strong.
Elisabeth I love and admire your work and dedication. And at the same time am appalled and disgusted by the in/justice system. The number of people that have been unjustly incarcerated pales when you think about those that were legally murdered for committing crimes they never did. So it is not an exaggeration to say you are a real saviour to so many. Thank you on their behalf.

@frannyzooey11

9y↑5

Peter Faigl I could not agree with you more. God knows how many peoplewere jailed and legally murdered because of false eyewitness identification.

@frannyzooey11

9y↑3

Peter Faigl I forgot about false confessions.

@Xavalexa

6y↑1

Sad that she refused to testify on behalf of science in the Demjanjuck case http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v11/v11p238_Cobden.html

@Klara9

3y↑1

one reason more to abolish the medieval aberration of death penalty, all over the world.

@regulatorsmountup4931

2y↑3

She’s a horrifying person who makes her money being an expert witness, defending pedophiles, rapists and serial killers

1 More Replies...

@marscaleb

6y↑24

I have noticed - even just in my own memories - that our memories are built out of pieces. When I think back to memories as a child, when I see my brothers, I see them as they are now, and hear the voices they have now, not that they had as children. Our mind stores bits of memories and when they are called up they are assembled like building a whole new object from a set of blueprints. It is not a perfect replica every time, it is just following a blueprint.
It is not hard to expand this to see that in truth those memories are built with several layers of blueprints. If one detail changes, the other blueprints that depend on that detail will change. Memory becomes easily corruptible if one thing is changed.

I have had dreams where I was back at the house I grew up in; a house I lived in for more then twenty years of my life. But my dream, being a dream, built the house wrong and showed it inaccurately. But yet now, when I try to think of that house, I see the details as they appeared in the dream. I can just barely see enough to understand that the memory is wrong, and if I work very hard I can see specific details that I know were not correct. But my mind still builds the false memory because I can see that one clearer than the true memory.

@GamingwithKetones

8y↑525

Why would anyone dislike this video? This is what happens to us on a daily basis, if we don't understand that our memeory is susceptible to error, as well as manipulation.

@Armuotas

8y↑23

+Shandykidinkent Richmond There are people who will go against ANYTHING that helps better the human condition. And for some the only resistance possible is hitting the "dislike" button.

@GRGO0152

8y↑3

+Shandykidinkent Richmond People like to make their own hypothesis' :)

@GamingwithKetones

8y↑14

mYl Armuotas You both are right, people just want to impulsively "dislike" something that doesn't conform with their own beliefs. Apologies for not replying earlier, working on my Major in Sociology.

- James

@GRGO0152

8y↑9

It's their right to disagree after all.. And I'm sure there are other theories that have just as much evidence... The brain is still a big mystery... Then again, knowing the internet community they just disliked it because they felt like it....

- Bachelor in Psychology :)

@GamingwithKetones

8y↑1

mYl Woo someone in the Social Sciences I love it! I'm getting a Minor in Psychology, becoming a Occupational therapist for the VA. what do you specialize in if you don't mind me asking? I have a close friend who is a clinical psychologist.

- James

37 More Replies...

@sarahloffler1872

5y↑17

Wow! Fantastic talk. We need more scientists like this in the field of psychology. What a brave powerhouse.

@WisdomThumbs

10y↑29

As I kid I had a friend who I would ask "Hey, do you remember when [x] happened?" And [x] would be an event changed by erroneous details, or even a completely fabricated event. In many cases he would brighten up and remember [x], often quite vividly. This was obviously much more likely to happen when it was a real event with fudged details, but... still. It instilled in me a distrust in human memory. I did wonder if he was actually remembering these false events or just claiming he did so as to better fit in, but over the years I've seen other people try this trick on me and others. Either your mind latches onto [x] and assembles a memory out of other unrelated memories, or you pretend you remember it because you feel it's expected to, or (much less often) you call them on their bullshit. But it's a safe stunt to pull, generally. Keep an eye out for it.

@Crick1952

I'll typically do the last two

@mechelefelts9559

9y↑7

My experience , growing up in a dysfunctional home, where denial of truth of the environment and feelings was norm. Later as an adult When i confronted my parents about the abuse, they had a tendency to misremember and say it didn't happen... well it did and I'm spending my time healing and relearning and creating a healthy me, regardless if they had the memory...so sometimes people purposely forget but behavior of dysfunction eeks out in relationship and actions regardless of memory..

@ebooklibrary27

9y↑2

People tend to repress memories of things they did that they regret. I believe it's likely the memories are still there, they just refuse to come to terms with that. It's like when someone who drinks/uses all the time finally goes to AA or NA, they are basically forced to admit that they are addicts and will always be addicts, that's the hardest part for many of them. There is something innate that fights against that admission, it's like an admission of guilt or something. Almost like when you catch a small child red handed in wrong doing and they look at you and shake their heads like, what cha' lookin at me for? That urge to deny that we are flawed and can do wrong is strong and built into us at a very young age.

Just know you are not alone in your experience my friend..

@HeatherSpoonheim

9y↑44

I am now haunted by this vague feeling that as a child I saw Elizabeth Loftus in a mall, and she turned into a wolf and chased me until I fell into a fountain and nearly drowned. Anyone else have this feeling?

@LemonNation

9y↑48

Feeling? Nah, that actually happened to me.

@Slarti

6y↑38

I left a comment on a teacher at a previous school I went to and the police got in touch with me because this particular teacher was being accused of sexual assault by another former pupil.
The police were extremely careful in not giving me leading questions.
When I read in the press what this teacher was accused of I had two very significant memories of the teacher however this was only triggered by what I had read about the case.
So I have seen first hand how unreliable memory is.

@kyle-kz6iy

6y↑25

I think its how we individually perceive things. For instance, a teacher can be really friendly and touchy with students and you'll think nothing of it because hey, its just their personality. Then they get accused of sexual assault and you go back on your memories and think "Well maybe they were a predator rather than just friendly".

@Yardo

11y↑10

This is the reason I love video and photo recording. We can relive the experiences we may have forgotten or have become ambiguous in our minds.

@SebiSzabi

6y↑7

Once I was looking for my neckless everywhere and couldn’t find it. I went through everything, trying to remember when did I hold it last in my hand, and I was trying to picture the situation when I put it away. Heaps of different ideas crossed my mind, the entire content of my wardrobe was thrown in a pile at the middle of the room... Every corner checked...
Finally, I totally convinced myself, that I took it off on my way back home about a month ago, and put it in the inside packet of a jacket of mine which I gave away to charity the other day. I could literally remember myself doing it... but obviously I didn’t, because it was in the drawer at my workplace....
It is indeed scary what our brains are capable of doing.

@christopher5151

9y↑23

We need more people like this out spreading this message. I am dealing with this on 2 fronts right now and it totally sucks. If you suspect a memory issues with friends or spouse, first have yourself checked out (which is what i did) and if it appears you are not the problem do not hesitate telling your friends or family that they may have issues and to get checked out. Executive function is nothing to mess around with.

@sankro2221

8y↑23

If anyone has seen "Making a Murder" on Netflix, you should be fimiliar with this when Brandon, Steves nephew, "confesses" the crime that they both "comitted". It all makes sense now, and it is so, so, so sad what the police did to The Avery family.

@polinarabenok6779

yeah it's a practice well known by anyone who has had to study psychology, like police officers. let's be honest tho, his nephew was more susceptible than others may have been

@sankro2221

+Polina Rabenok I can't really agree, he was so easily effected by the police and thats bc he was so insecure and afraid. You must be fimiliar with Milgrams experiment? I think it has very many simularietes. But I see why you would believe that.

@AmythefirstA

6y↑10

This was fascinating! I love learning about memory. I know that my memories change. I've noticed old sparse memories getting filled in when I learn more details, or being sure of a memory only to have it thrown completely into doubt when someone else presents a conflicting memory.

@DharmendraRaiMindMap

9y↑31

Every thinking person should see this talk & understand the concept of false memory

@pickleballer1729

6y↑2

What a brilliant talk! I listen to a Podcast called "The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe" and they often talk about these issues (faulty memory and scientists being sued to stop them from speaking out). Two of the biggest problems facing us. The perversion of truth (mostly inadvertently but sometimes intentionally) and the suppression of truth. Keep on Speaking out, Dr. Loftus and SGU!

@EatingAnElephant

1y↑4

I have memories that are my own, meaning that I know they are mine because I was alone and no one convinced me of the activity or event. Some of my memories are the kind of memories that no one would corroborate because of the embarrassment it would cause them. I also have "memories" of things that were put there by people who told me the story over and over and I would not know about it without the input of others.

@scretching08

6y↑75

Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus is a well-known expert in false memories. I have a 1981 textbook she co-wrote in college psychology.

@DrakeSilmore

6y↑9

Her work is amazing, and it is even expended upon in the field of neuroscience. Memory is not about what happened, but rather about what is the most probable that has happened. We have predictive and associative brains, not factual and logical ones. It's pretty scary and awesome at the same time.

@DrakeSilmore

4y↑1

@Itzcali liliana I don't have to discredit the idea of repressed memories, the idea has to prove itself. There has to be replicable evidence that repressed memories exist and the ways to access them are reliable.
At the same time there is ample of evidence that you can plant false memories in someone's brain, so you have to take that into account as well.

As with everything in science, there is a lot of nuance here and neither side is probably completely correct. It is possible and documented for people to have memory loss after an intense trauma, which would be interpreted as repressed memories. It is equally possible and documented that careless therapists actually talk their patients into the conviction that they have been abused by their parent and that that causes their hardship, while this has factually not happened at all. The brain is very susceptible to suggestion.

It is, however, far more likely that things are just forgotten naturally, even if they did truly happened, and that recalling them during sessions only further restricts the patient recalling them. In this case there are not unconscious memories, the brain has just learned to interact with the world in a certain way, and being aware any trauma that happened isn't going to help with dealing with that.

@MMU_U

33w

Is a well know abuser defender, Ted Bundy, Havey Weinstein, Jefrey Epstein, Bill Cosby are just a few she defend, she´s so unetical

@MargjevanderLei

10y↑6

This is very powerful, the mind is tricking us by what ever reason. I wonder if there is a connection with the feelings that are involved? The feelings keeping the story's a live and change the story's the way to protect the core feeling of the event.
When you change the feelings the story changes too.

@charmedgirl90

6y↑6

I was in a holdup when I was 15 and while we were waiting for the police, the other worker (who interacted with the guy) and I pieced together what we had noticed about him. I was truly embarrassed by how much I couldn't remember or remembered incorrectly.

@jdsguam

6y↑145

Why isn't this video being spread far and wide?

@cassie6583

6y↑6

That is exactly what I would like to know. Democrats dont want the populace to see it.

@EdibleCastleWill

6y↑3

might be the shrill tone

@riftrulek4d

Her voice might make some people deaf

@breathgrowth5102

Because its about abuse and ted supports hillary

@cassie6583

6y↑13

It's about wrongly accused of something because of false memories. Hillary has nothing to do with it. Do you have a comprehension problem or are you just a dumbass?

3 More Replies...

@Vierotchka

11y↑2

I have always been able to draw the face of someone from memory, even someone I don't know but saw only once, and my drawings are always absolutely precise and correct. I have often been told that I have a formidable memory.

@brockmackin8913

6y↑155

We cannot reliably distinguish false memories. We need independent corroboration.

@nunyabisnass1141

6y↑2

My memory used to be well enough that i could tell you everything going on around me for that memory. Now i struggle to remember how to finish sentences. Most times i try remember logical details that logically must have happened to support my version of events. Like growing up, my brother would often think i did this funny thing at a party, but i was always working on weekends and only called out twice during that period of time, one for a wedding, and another for a birthday neither of which he went to. So if i mist hsve been working, then i couldnt have been with him at those parties to do those things. It isnt even possible.

@RainBoxRed

Or so you think...

@catsozen

6y↑4

Yeap, it's why I keep my diary and notes, so the important stuffs do not get muddled over time. Never trust humans, not even yourself.

@jennifercollins2548

6y↑1

Pointing out the need for corroboration in the case against Brett Kavanaugh. 100% sure from something that happened under stress 36 years ago shouldn’t be accepted as pure memory.

@ADEehrh

👍( gas lighting)

@imgpartner

10y↑2

What a wonderful realisation for anybody who feels unhappy for some reason(s)!
We CAN CHOOSE what we (want to) BELIEVE (e.g. because it's good for us and for other people), we can reprogram our memory. Unhappy childhood can be cured.

@noochinator

6y↑4

You, Ma'am, are a hero, and more needed now than ever!

@McMurchie

11y↑19

Her opening story about the guy is so sad :(

@Weigazod

@chill187

11y↑10

I'd like to see a similar study on the relationships between nostalgia and pessimistic attitudes. Sometimes when I look back on experiences, what I feel depends on my current mood or attitude. I might look back at a past relationship or experience with a substance, forgetting either the good parts or the bad parts depending on how I'm feeling at the time. I wonder if there is a correlation.

@pheonixrises11

5y↑2

It's kind of comforting to me that my memory isn't actually bad, and it's probably okay that I don't remember a lot of the faces I see, even the people I talk to.

@devilsadvocate22289

11y↑1

I met Dr. Loftus and interviewed her for the newspaper. She is a really nice person...and very knowledgeable of her stuff. Her stuff contributed much to the criminology community.

@jordanmchighlander9365

4y↑1

I read a story at one point and I loved it completely. I still even gushed about how well developed my favourite scene was. Later on, I reread the story (which was just as I remembered) and once I reached my favourite scene I found out it was nothing like I remembered. The scene didn't have any substance and made no sense. Then I remembered something else; I hated that one scene so much that I rewrote it in my head. I changed it to fit the narrative better and provide some much needed closure. I'd previously spent a lot of time thinking about how that one scene could've been better that when recalling the story I thought the scene actually happened.

@user-hr7et9wm6j

8y↑2

Great talk which proves that nobody is errorless and calls us to be more human. I will remember it.

@ArcticKrampus

4y↑6

I wish more people would watch this that way they would stop getting on my case for saying "I don't know" and "I can't remember".

@scotty

9y↑29

Very powerful, thank you Elizabeth, good job.

@FreedomFTW

7y↑5

This video has good information. I dissagree with implanting traumatic false memories in people as an experiment. Especially the possession one. Why would they use such memories that can mess a person up for an experiment? Yet later say it also works with good memories.

@okebaram

13w

Dealing with a loved one currently in jail convicted falsely and first-hand knowledge revealing tons of people are convicted by our judicial system or forced to sign guilty pleas for things never committed, this makes my heart heavy, very heavy. So many innocent lives are damaged or destroyed, and regular people are unaware.

@krishdoesitlikeaboss

10y↑7

This study is so cool! we looked at it during my IB psychology class and ill hopefully be able to use it later on. Thanks Elizabeth :)

@zeynepakpinar4076

4y↑2

it's worthed for every minute you've spend to watch, thank you

@lapatria100

9y↑3

So it's possible to shift my negative thoughts that triggered due to a event a few years back which inherently turned into a habit of self put down into positive thoughts by being induced to believe that something else occurred? I need a psychiatrist or therapist....this is gold... I'm learning this in my first year of English @ junior college

@irrelevantirrelevant7332

Yeah sure, that is what therapy is partially about. Accepting the past as it is, as you realise you made unsmart decisions and accept them. You turn the feel of sourness and bitterness of crushing defeat into something useful. You begin to learn from EXPERIENCE - the bad ones.
The second part is about remembering your victories. Your successes and how you achieved them.

@Amy-tl2xe

6y↑26

This woman has done a great service to the world with her research. Thank you, Ms. Loftus.

@bonnieallen4597

You mean disservice to many, many victims!

@michaelcox545

A fantastic service indeed… for satanic pedophile cults.

@domari9539

8y↑24

Brilliant woman. Brilliant presentation.

@ticklewit

11y

I feel blessed to hear this talk. Only once in a while such a talk comes online. Thank you for enlightening me.

@user-xn2hf9re8r

6y↑1

brilliant work and so morally right. She sounds out of breathe bless her.

@Geographicall

4y↑1

I know there are people with photographic memories but in these kinds of situations you need to be paying full attention and usually people don’t have enough time to process exactly what is happening for their testimony to be deemed reliable. I feel really sad for Titus...his life was destroyed because of false eye-witness testimonies, but goodness knows how many other lives have been ruined due to the same circumstance. I’m grateful to Elizabeth Loftus for persevering with her work in this field, despite people trying to sue her!! I guess if you’re convinced something awful has happened to you during or as a consequence of therapy (even though it really didn’t) then being disbelieved must feel terrible and therapists are surely accountable, but yeah, it’s definitely a grey area!

@jondunmore4268

7y↑41

14:12 -- Man, she is the real life version of Leo DiCaprio in INCEPTION, "implanting false memories"...
DUUUUHNNN DUUUUUUHNN DUUUUHNNN DUUUUUUHNN

@abiramiramakrishnan8993

@John V Eh it has Inception energy tho

@leodaza3

10y↑6

well, looks like I finally have a favourite TED talk

@reeju9125

So true, we are naturally social beings, moreover when we've experienced something.
Understandably, we crave for help, protection and group acknowledgement. This makes us susceptible to suggestions and find comfort when others chime in. Worst, the more people who want to help, the more convulted memory turns.

@TheGrassdawg

I enjoy your work. I have for the past 29 years done many backpacking/hiking trips 5-6 times a year with two dear friends. More than once two of us will be sharing a poignant memory of a particular event or trip when the other one will say, “Hey! Are you sure you are not collaging from trip x, y or z?” or “ I have no idea what you guys are talking about!”. All humor aside, I am grateful for the work you do and am sorry for all the flak a forward thinker like yourself has to endure.

@the.mr.beacher

6y↑7

Dr. Loftus should be all over the news right now. This is gold!

@akronymus

10y↑60

I hope that Mrs. Loftus is listened to. I positively know a person who has been to therapists who (willingly or by accident) implanted her false memory - she remembers events that by proof never have taken place. I can tell how unpleasant it is when in severe points subjective memory is altered.

@JusticeForNicholeAlloway

10y↑3

This has been accepted science for a LONG TIME. And the whole satanic cult thing was going on far more in the 1980s than the 1990s.

If you research the Titus case, there's a case to be made that police just wanted a perp, they found *someone, so let's put him in jail.

@patrickholland901

7y↑1

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/what-experts-wish-you-knew-about-false-memories/

This came out in 2016, so it's still controversial and more accepted by clinicians than actual research psychologists.

@ananyaupadhya1974

5y↑5

BTW, she's Dr Loftus

@KevinFitzMauriceEverett

10y↑1

Excellent work and presentation. Thank you.

@mfn1311

5y↑5

This makes me feel like I have a lot of false memories from my childhood.

@davidmanhart1

11y

My heart goes out to you.. And thank you for what you did.

@cutifat

7y↑4

I really admire this very special professor, Elizabeth Loftus, for her incredible curiosity and perseverance. I don't think "false memory" will cater to the majority's interest or appreciation, but she still hangs in there. Way to go! A 100% real scientist!

@MissLucianaEspindola

8y↑29

This was absolutely worth my time! I agree in every matter. But I would like to see some investigation about planting happy false memories. I suspect that happy memories are more difficult to plant, since people overrate their misery and sadness, and happy moments are usually just forgotten. Anyway, I like this trend of research very much! Hope to work with it sometime! :)

@GaaraSama1983

8y↑8

I don't know it it's overrating, but what I know from my basic neuroscience knowledge is that our brain saves negative experiences "stronger". It's a mechanism so we protect ourselves better to not make or allow the same experiences over and over. On the other side traumatic experiences are moved to the subconscious for the purpose of not going insane. And now stop with your Inception world domination schemes :)

@MissLucianaEspindola

8y↑1

Shame on me! My plan was discovered! :P :)

@justinlacek1481

8y↑2

Luciana Espindola

Her "ethical arguments" were very bad to be honest. I agree that the ends justify the means, and that this is good research, but her argument about parents do X, therefore X is good, etc., was just bad.

We just watched most of this video in my psychology class (im a philosophy major) and I'm just sitting there thinking like, jeez, just stop.

@MissLucianaEspindola

Well, Justin... I would like to hear a bit more from you about why this video is bad. I saw it 8 months ago and really don't remember the details. If you are willing to discuss (and I bet you are, since you are a major in philosophy) I would gladly watch it again and discuss it with you. But by my own comment, I believe there is something we strongly disagree about this video, since (apparently) I never thought "jeez, just stop". Anyway, I also don't agree with the "X parenting" observation (and I don't remember it this way), which makes me wonder what difference would it make to you to watch this video until the end instead of most of it. I have no formal instruction in philosophy (I'm a physicist with major in computer science), but I have some friend philosophers whom I use to have some beers and discuss about everything. I also had a psychologist who always told me I should have been a psychologist, not a physicist. Well, I guess our talk would be fun.

@rdizzy1

7y↑1

That wasn't really her argument at all, her argument was to the person that said they shouldn't do it because it requires parents to lie to their kids, and she replied with a picture of santa, which is true, parents like to their kids alot, in many ways.

1 More Replies...

@GReg22334

8y↑2

Fascinating, incredible work.

@brittanytoth3559

11y

This is fascinating. I'm glad I found this vid. I just learned about Elizabeth Loftus in Psychology class.

@crystalhicks24

9y↑9

This really makes me think about how many of my childhood memories are actually accurate..

@user-dk8gn8js6o

38w

It was great to say at the end: "Memory - like liberty - is a fragile thing"! Need to remember!)

@skippress

What a fabulous lecture. As a former $cientologist who dealt with hearing all sorts of wacky "memories" from Hubbard and followers, this explains a lot.

@eilechaa

5y↑1

i found her through Weiten's psychology book chapter about memory and then i recognizes she was also featured in Brain games episode about false memory. trully legend

@taylorbrooke3310

2y↑1

This is so interesting. And on top of all the media that is watched and movies, TV, etc. And books that are read. Surely factors like such "daily" events as these even have influence on our memories.

@quentinxavier

11y↑1

Amazing research! And such impressive persistence! Wow...

@4ur3n

6y↑3

what a great scientist! We need more like her!

@hafsahyaser9619

Very inspirational, emotional and educational as I learned so much about eye witness testimony from this video.

@GM4ThePeople

11y

The ability to change not just opinions but even memories makes lying a powerful weapon in the hands of the Herders of People.

@homerfj1100

11y

Agreed. Memory is so fragile, I`ve come up with some that never, ever, occurred.

@Xxbte96xX

7y↑14

This is incredibly eye opening.

@TheSkepticSkwerl

I've known this for a while. And it just sickens me of how many innocent people are likely in jail due to this. Evidence needs to stack up. And juries don't want to be there and usually are uneducated especially on scientific and critical thinking. Our system is no good and was invented 100's if not 1000's of years ago. Very saddening indeed.

@CyanBlackflower

People who know me well, if they are truthful (I am quite selective of whom I call "Friend") will ALL give me this one benefit - I give credit where it is due - and for years that could swing in diametrically opposed - Both ways, to get to the point. Recently I find myself often critical rather than complimentary of the actions of my fellow humans - actions of course which to me were in some way remarkable. THIS is NOT resulting from any cynical attitude nor some misconstructed egotistical conceit, but rather, I think, the idea that good deeds, regardless of magnitude, stand up for themselves and do not require as much attention as those which are reprehensible. THIS woman, E. Loftus - (Bless Her) reminds me, not fast enough that I am so inaccurate in my presumption. Not the leastwise is the fact that it is coinciding with a similar event I experienced just 3 days ago prior to my writing this post. No I was not accused of raping, killing, or worse... I was sitting in a city park with 2 good friends - who know well what my faults are - I know them too, and I am accepting of them. I AIM to be a good person. Yes I sometimes screw up, and when I do - I have what I think is good reason...I will admit when I am wrong - IF I feel so in my CORE. ...So when a woman whom I have NEVER met before walking her dog, approached us and began a friendly discourse - suddenly, with no provocation, claimed that she had met me last week when I seriously insulted her, by telling her that her cigarette smoking was an offence to the air decent people breathe...(Triggered by my lighting up one...) ...She became quite irate, and in spite of my assurance that what she was saying was virtually impossible in my nature, nor my Memory - which has not yet malfunctioned as described in this vid... - that she had me confused with someone else, and even the confirmation of my friends, who know me well - and the fact that this woman is NEW to the neighbourhood, and talks to everyone she meets (Approx 55 yo - possibly drinks a lot, from my guess) Was all in vain. She began shouting at me CERTAIN of her conviction that I was her offender - Her son died of lung cancer, being a main fortification of her absolute conviction of MY guilt...My feeling and point here is that there is a SERIOUS flaw, in the way most people evaluate reality and the world in which we live. This could happen to ANYONE at ANY time, for almost ANY REASON. It is REASON which is floundering, and giving way to IRRATIONAL thought paradigms, when our current society can LEAST afford to lose it. Particularly when irrationality is sanctioned yet unacceptable component of our FORENSIC process(Dis) ease...

@lukethegreat101

9y↑14

I would love to have her ethics board....

@mojosbigsticks

7y↑2

I was given a self-help book years ago which suggested that, even if you only think you might have been abused, you certainly were. You should indulge that belief, dive into it, bring up all the repressed memories which you must have. If you don't find any, dive deeper until you do. No matter that everyone around you says it didn't happen and there's no evidence for it, you have to believe you're a victim of abuse or your life won't improve. The whole concept terrified me.

@gerhardjvr

9y↑1

Very interesting, thank you for sharing it with us. Makes you think

@tinausr

10y↑1

WoW... amazing and breathtaking, such a revelation

@nika_

11y

thank you for carrying on with your work. Please acknowledge, it is being appreciated

@jessewest3523

4y↑3

What an incredible, brave, intelligent woman! She's exactly the kind of woman who some people would accuse of being too "ambitious," "aggressive," or "unpleasant." But look at what she's accomplished and the information she's added to humanity's collective knowledge!

@starlett53

8y↑24

Memory is such an amazing and vast field of study. You go girl! 📖

@HowlingWolves98

11y

I support you! My memories were altered in a way that i couldn't distinguished truth from fiction so i have my doubts and hope to learn more about these false memories.

@etang5

11y↑1

I've caught myself forming false memories. Someone is telling me about an event and I picture myself there only to have them remember more details and I realize it was impossible for me to have been there. Or waking up from a dream really mad but then realizing it wasn't real even though it felt real. Those things could just as easily slip into our minds as memories even though they aren't.

@krbelosay

11y↑1

Fantastic . This must be read over to our judges.

@BenWillock

8y↑14

So this is why so many people (me included) thought that Walkers Cheese and Onion crisps used to be in a green packet not a blue one.

@parkerhix1057

7y↑2

no, what youre referring to is a thing called the mandela effect. look into it, its quite a conspiracy.

@CityofLadies

walkers Spring onion Crisps were/are in a light green packet and used to be much more popular xx

@---kx1xc

WHEN I WAS little (under 5) i didnt know about lying, so many times i remember my mom getting upset about something, my brother telling her that I did it, and my mom lecturing me, as I would sit there being klectured, id try to remember when I had done this bad thing, imaging myself doing it and then thinking, "why did i do that? what a horrible person i am, I knew better and did it anyways?" id be so confused.
20 years later during a family get together, my brother starts laughing about how when we were kids, he'd break or piss on something and then blame me. Then suddenly I understood that i never was that horrible child that couldnt ever do anything right, i realized he was that horrible child and i was a perfect angel.

@grantbassingthwaighte2618

6y↑14

I think I have OCD and I think my mind makes up stuff that never happened in the past making some memories worse than they actually were, or making up memories completely.

@jimebt

5y↑6

I feel this too. About a month ago, I did a barely visible scratch on my car. I was really upset about this. Then I went on a trip for a few days and kept thinking about it and stressing over it a lot. I would constantly try to remember the scratch and each time I remembered a bigger scratch. When I got back from the trip and finally saw my car again, the scratch was so hard to find and so small it made me feel like something was wrong with my memory!

@pranaypallavtripathi2460

This was very very moving. I had no idea of such a work.

@pkzrdabest

11y

this is why its really important for the police to ask questions in specific ways while interviewing and while doing line ups. They should never as "who is it" or "who do you think it is" it should be more like "do you recognize anyone" and assure the person that the person may not be in the line up at all.

@343RuinedHalo

11y

you can adjust the volume

@samims8392

Excellent. Thanks Elizabeth!

@FrancesMarionz

5y↑1

Great information that can certainly be used for good also !

@sugarpump

6y↑3

Excellent food for thought as I head to the courtroom to be a witness.

@torbenx2260

10y↑1

great speak. It opened my mind..

@BernardvonSchulmann

11y↑1

Since the age of 2 I have been fascinated with the process of how create memories and how we recall them. I have a very visual memory so I can still recall moments from a very young age when I chose to remember specific moments. My mother was a photographer and I used her desire to take pictures as ways to manipulate the environment to remember the moment and how I had used my thought pattern to do so.