Ask a friend or relative to choose a time you both remember, you can make this easy, like a time you went for ice cream. After you have agreed on your shared memory, separate and write down everything you recalled about the event from start to finish, such as, how you got there, what you talked about in the car, what you were wearing, what flavor of ice cream you got, and so forth. You can see that the event should be simple since many details can emerge.
After you have each separately written your memory down, sit together and compare the memories. Are they exact copies of each other or do the recollections differ? What percentage matches? What kinds of memories are the same, for example, if you each recalled the flavors of the ice cream why might that be so? Did you talk a lot about the flavors increasing repetition and chances you would both recall? How do you feel about the fact that two people sharing a similar experience will have two different memories?
You must consult Schacter’s 7 Sins of Memory on page 282 to help you to articulate why your shared memories differ. Be sure to use a direct quote from the chapter or paraphrase Schacter’s ideas here to support your own memory analysis.
