Misattribution of memory

Memory plays an important role in a number of aspects of our everyday lives and allows us to recall past experiences, navigate our environments, and learn new tasks. From this view, information about a source of memory is assumed to contain certain characteristics that reflect the conditions under which the memory representations were attained. Judgments about these sources are made by evaluating the amount and nature of the characteristics. The accuracy of their recall varies depending on the circumstances at which they are retrieved. Generally speaking, misattribution of memory involves source details retained in memory but erroneously attributing a recollection or idea to the wrong source. Misattribution is likely to occur when individuals are unable to monitor and control the influence of their attitudes, toward their judgments, at the time of retrieval. Thus, memory is adapted to retain information that is most likely to be needed in the environment in which it operates. Therefore, any misattribution observed is likely to be a reflection of current attitudes.Misattribution is divided into three components; cryptomnesia, false memories, and source confusion. It was originally noted as one of Daniel Schacter's, The Seven Sins of Memory. His book, The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers, identifies misattribution as a type of memory distortion or inaccuracy. For example, people may assert that they saw a face in one context when they actually encountered it in another.