Just research the two topics in the first section.
Second, could you choose one of the following options below?
Option 1: Brain Games and False Memories
Watch the video from Brain Games and discuss how stress and wording can impair memory. How does the misinformation effect create false memories? How could investigators avoid creating false memories? Relate to at least two concepts from your book.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
The Role of Stress and Wording in Impairing Memory and Creating False Memories
Introduction
Memory is a complex cognitive process that plays a crucial role in our everyday lives. It allows us to retain and recall information, experiences, and skills. However, research has shown that memory is not as reliable as we might believe. In fact, various factors, such as stress and wording, can impair memory and even create false memories. This essay will delve into the impact of stress and wording on memory and explore the phenomenon of false memories, specifically in relation to the video from Brain Games. Additionally, we will discuss how investigators can avoid creating false memories by employing certain strategies and techniques.
The Influence of Stress on Memory
Stress is a natural response to challenging or threatening situations. While moderate levels of stress can enhance memory performance, excessive stress can have detrimental effects on memory retrieval and encoding processes. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law, there is an optimal level of arousal that maximizes performance. When stress surpasses this optimal level, memory functions may become impaired.
In the Brain Games video, it is evident that stress plays a crucial role in memory impairment. Through various experiments, the video demonstrates how individuals under stress are more prone to forgetting important details or even fabricating false memories. Stress activates the release of cortisol, a hormone that affects memory consolidation and retrieval. As a result, individuals experiencing high levels of stress may struggle to access accurate memories, leading to the creation of false memories.
The Power of Wording: The Misinformation Effect
The power of wording is another influential factor in memory distortion. The way information is presented or framed can significantly impact how individuals encode and retrieve memories. The phenomenon known as the misinformation effect illustrates how misleading information can alter one’s recollection of an event.
In the Brain Games video, participants are exposed to different versions of an event, each with variations in wording. The video demonstrates that even subtle changes in the way questions are phrased can lead to significant differences in participants’ recollections. For example, using words like “smashed” instead of “hit” when referring to a car accident can influence participants’ estimation of the speed at which the vehicles were traveling.
Avoiding the Creation of False Memories
Given the potential for false memories to arise due to stress and wording influences, it is crucial for investigators to adopt strategies that minimize the risk of creating false memories during interviews or interrogations. Two concepts from our book can be applied to this scenario: context-dependent memory and cognitive interviewing.
Context-dependent memory suggests that individuals are more likely to recall information when they are in the same context or environment as when the information was initially encoded. Investigators can utilize this concept by recreating the original environment or context during interviews to enhance memory retrieval and reduce the likelihood of false memories.
Cognitive interviewing is an evidence-based technique that aims to improve the accuracy and completeness of witness testimony. It involves specific questioning techniques, such as open-ended questions and free recall, which encourage the witness to provide as much detail as possible without leading or suggestive prompts. By employing cognitive interviewing techniques, investigators can gather reliable information while minimizing the risk of implanting false memories.
Conclusion
Stress and wording have a significant impact on memory function and can contribute to the creation of false memories. The Brain Games video effectively highlights how stress impairs memory accuracy and how slight variations in wording can alter one’s recollection of an event. Investigators must be mindful of these influences when conducting interviews or interrogations to ensure they obtain accurate information without inadvertently creating false memories. By implementing strategies such as context-dependent memory and cognitive interviewing, investigators can enhance memory retrieval while minimizing the risk of false memory formation.
