Why Our Memory Fails Us

We have an abstract understanding that people can remember the same event differently. The film “Rashomon” made this point more than 60 years ago, the Showtime series “The Affair” presents each episode from two conflicting viewpoints, and contradictory witness testimony is a crime drama trope. But when our own memories are challenged, we may neglect all this and instead respond emotionally, acting as though we must be right and everyone else must be wrong. Overconfidence in memory could emerge from our daily experience: We recall events easily and often, at least if they are important to us, but only rarely do we find our memories contradicted by evidence, much less take the initiative to check if they are right.

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