Psychology / Unit 6 Psych 0700 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The "Vivid Means Accurate" Error
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The idea
It is an error to treat a memory's vividness or the rememberer's confidence as evidence of its accuracy.
In practice
Accounts recorded the day after a major event and again years later diverge sharply while confidence stays high.
Where people slip
This error carries real weight in courtrooms, where confidence is persuasive to juries and weakly related to accuracy.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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