Study Shows Unreliable Short-Term Memory Formation in Seconds

A new study has found that people can form false memories of an event within seconds of it occurring, shaped by their expectations of what should happen. The research focused on the potential inaccuracy of short-term memory, with participants asked to recall letters that were sometimes reversed in orientation. The findings indicate that our memory starts being shaped almost immediately by our preconceptions, with people's short-term memory better when they had to be especially quick on their feet. The study's authors hope to keep testing the fallibility of short-term memory in other ways.