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Extending the range of adaptive misbelief: Memory “distortions” as functional features

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2010

Pascal Boyer
Pascal Boyer
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130. pboyer@artsci.wustl.eduhttp://artsci.wustl.edu/~pboyer
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Abstract

A large amount of research in cognitive psychology is focused on memory distortions, understood as deviations from various (largely implicit) standards. Many alleged distortions actually suggest a highly functional system that balances the cost of acquiring new information with the benefit of relevant, contextually appropriate decision-making. In this sense many memories may be examples of functionally adaptive misbelief.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 32 , Issue 6 , December 2009 , pp. 513 - 514
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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