Talks and shows

Our perfectly imperfect memories

Ciara Greene explains how imperfections in the brain's memory recall are fundamental to our lives.

Image of old photographs
via Pixabay

We tend to think of our memories as impressions of the past that remain fully intact, preserved somewhere inside our brains. In fact, we construct and reconstruct our memories every time we attempt to recall them. This can result in errors in our memories that can have serious consequences – as when an eyewitness identifies an innocent person as the perpetrator of a crime. However, our memories evolved this way for a reason, and the flaws support us in living our lives and maintaining our social bonds. Psychologist Ciara Greene explores how our “perfectly imperfect” memory systems make us who we are – for better and for worse.

 

Copies of Ciara's book "Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember" will be available to purchase after the talk.

Event type

This is a theatre only event where the speakers and audience are together in our Theatre.

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For any queries regarding this event please get in touch by phone 020 7409 2992 or email events@ri.ac.uk.

About Ciara Greene

Image of Ciara Greene

Ciara Greene is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology at University College Dublin, where she leads the Attention and Memory Lab. Together with Gillian Murphy, she is the author of Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember.

Timing

Doors to the theatre will open at 6.45pm and the talk will begin at 7.00pm.

Accessibility

The event will take place on the first floor and there is step-free access from the street via lift.

The closest underground station is Green Park, which is step-free.

There is space at floor level in the theatre for wheelchair users.

Seating is usually unreserved for our events. If you and your group require seating reservations, please do let us know by emailing us at events@ri.ac.uk, and we’ll be more than happy to help.

Carers can receive a free ticket to an event by emailing events@ri.ac.uk.

Our theatre is equipped with an Audio Induction Loop. 

Event terms and conditions