Perceptions and memories

Do you think it is the amount of importance we place on the information that forms our perceptions and memories? How so?

References needed. Thank you.
© BrainMass Inc. brainmass.com October 9, 2019, 11:33 pm ad1c9bdddf
https://brainmass.com/psychology/cognitive-psychology/perceptions-memories-260085
Solution Preview

Let’s take a closer look.

RESPONSE:

1. Do you think it is the amount of importance we place on the information that forms our perceptions and memories? How so?

When we think an event or information is important, we are more likely to pay attention to it, which is necessary to form perceptions, because without paying attention to information, we do not form perceptions about it, it is forgotten or not encoded into memory at all. However, when we think something is important to learn, we form both perception and encode it into memory to recall at a later date. Conversely, if it is not important to us, we often do not pay attention to information, and it is often not encoded and not stored in memory. In fact, research suggests that most cognitive processes supporting adaptive behavior need attentional resources for their operation. And, for memory; if memory was a car, attention would be its fuel: New information is not stored into memory if not attended to, and distraction often leads to misremembering past events (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090121091222.htm).

Conversely, a new study in some patients …