Julia Shaw on memories that aren't true
Can you get someone to believe they committed a crime (when they didn't)? Julia Shaw tells Jim Al-Khalil about her life and work.
Early in her career, Julia wanted to know if it was possible to get someone to believe they committed a crime (when they hadn鈥檛)? In a bold experiment she showed how students created false memories of criminal events in their teenage years, describing in rich detail how they had assaulted people, when no such events had taken place. What does this mean for a criminal justice system that relies heavily on memory-based evidence? Does it make it more difficult for the victims of crimes to have their voices heard? Victims of sex crimes, in particular. Or can the findings of false memory research be used to prevent miscarriages of justice? Julia talks to Jim Al-Khalili about growing up with her dad鈥檚 delusional beliefs and paranoid thoughts and how a profound appreciation that everyone鈥檚 reality is different pulled her to the field of false memory research.
Producer: Anna Buckley
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Broadcasts
- Tue 22 Feb 2022 09:0091热爆 Radio 4
- Tue 22 Feb 2022 21:3091热爆 Radio 4
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Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work.
