Popular Myths about Memory

Media Representations versus Scientific Evidence

By (author) Brian H. Bornstein University of Nebraska

Publication date:

03 July 2017

Length of book:

334 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

238x160mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739192184

Misconceptions about memory phenomena often go hand-in-hand with popular misrepresentations of its function in media. In Popular Myths about Memory, Brian H. Bornstein examines how the representation of memory in novels, movies, and television shows often clashes with scientific research. Bornstein discusses the consequences of these myths on the popular understanding of memory and its functions. Depictions of amnesia, eyewitness accounts, and superior memory are just a few of the processes explored and debunked. This book is recommended for scholars interested in psychology, media and film studies, literary studies, and communication studies.

Introduction: Memory, Metamemory, Media, and Myth
Chapter 1: Memory Myths: A Review and New Data
Chapter 2: Memory Accuracy and Permanence
Chapter 3: An Unholy Tetrad: Repression, Recovered Memory, False Memory, and Hypnosis
Chapter 4: Memory and the Brain: Implants and Erasure
Chapter 5: Retrograde Amnesia
Chapter 6: Anterograde Amnesia
Chapter 7: Memory, Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Dementia
Chapter 8: Memory and the Legal System: Eyewitnesses
Chapter 9: Memory and the Legal System: False Confessions
Chapter 10: Superior Memory
Conclusion

Rarely is a book about memory published that is equally suited to the scholar and the layperson. Clearly and concisely, Popular Myths About Memory covers topics as diverse as the brain’s role in memory, amnesia, dementia, memory and the legal system, and superior memory. Most importantly Popular Myths About Memory explains how myths about these topics are wrongly portrayed by popular media and how these popular myths clash with scientific evidence. Bornstein’s book is a must-read for anyone interested in memory.