Memory as a WOK

Your task is to design a presentation on your assigned topic.

When doing so, try to emphasis at least one TOK concept in the presentation. The
TOK concepts are reliability, technology, evidence, validity, certainty, culture,
values, beliefs, truth and bias.
You will find information in your textbook and resources on my website.

Group 1 Matthew Kwong, Josh, Matthew Lau

The nature of memory

Types of memory: (personal, factual and practical) & (sensory, short-term

and long-term)
What kinds of memories do animals have? How are they similar to and how
are they different from human memories?
The mechanics of memory: neuroscientific basis (dealing with issues of
encoding, storage and retrieval of memories) do you really know
something if you can passively recognize the answer when you see it or
hear it, but are unable to produce it when asked?

Group 2 Megan, Felix, Meghan

The ethics of memory

To what extent do different religions encourage us to forgive and forget?

Is it always wrong to meddle with peoples memories? investigate the
issue of PTSD in military veterans
Do you think it is better for countries to face up to shameful incidents in
their past, or is it better for them to put such incidents behind them? look
at relations between China & Japan, and the issue of holding truth and
reconciliation commissions in some countries to deal with
unethical/immoral past events, but not in other countries.
Group 3 Ho Wang, Ingrid, Donna

The reliability of memory

Difference between forgetting and misremembering if you read and enjoy

a novel and a few months later cant remember anything about it, in what
way, if any, does it detract from the value of reading?
Flashbulb memories is our memory really strengthened in emotionally-
charged events?
False memories look at the work of Dr. Elizabeth Loftus
Memory biases (egocentric bias; narrative bias; emotional bias; vividness
bias; hindsight bias and source amnesia) if you had a video of your entire
life to date, how much of a discrepancy do you think there would be
between your memory and reality? Do you think it is more important to
have accurate memories of the past or happy memories of the past?

Group 4 Jerry, Ella, Hoi Man

Eye-witness testimony

Four key sources of interference (stereotyping; misidentification; leading

questions; and imagination inflation) what criteria would you use to
decide whether eye-witness testimony is a reliable source of evidence?
To what extent does memory inform our [sense] perceptions and
expectations?
How can we distinguish between memory and imagination?

Group 5 Ian, Sean, Kyle

Construct a psychological test that tests a persons memory

Investigate the methodology used by a psychologist to undertake

experiements
Design an experiment that tests the reliability of memory, or the effect of a
particular variable on memory. The experiment should be valid, reliable
and ethical.
You need to give detailed step-by-step instructions to another scientist as
to how to conduct the experiment.