Semantic memory “memory for meaning”

Most of the subjects remembered the “gist” of the story but did not remember the specifics. Over time the subjects added facts that were not true for example “a black cloud came out of his mouth” or “black smoke” or “black ghost” when in the real story it was just something black that came out of his mouth. Another subjected added “bushes” or that someone was “stabbed” when bushes was not mentioned in the story and no one was stabbed. Most people forgot about the seals! Some were very detailed and remained detailed throughout t1-t3. Some were very brief and remained brief throughout t1-t3.

This shows that memory can not be reliable. I learned this in criminal justice. Eye witnesses are a lot of the time inaccurate and miss or add details that are not true.