Perspective Matters: When Visual Perspective Reshapes Autobiographical Memories

Memories are not accurate records of the past, but instead reflect our unique point-of-view. Not only do we experience events from a particular visual perspective, we can also retrieve events from one of two perspectives: 1) an own eyes perspective, from the same viewpoint where the event was initially experienced, and 2) an observer-like perspective, where we might “see” ourselves in the remembered event. The particular visual perspective adopted, as well as the ability to shift between perspectives, is associated with changes in the subjective and objective characteristics of memories, which has led to debate regarding whether the presence of novel perspectives reflects inaccuracies or distortions. In this target article I will provide an overview of cognitive research on visual perspective in memories for events by discussing the circumstances in which adopting an observer-like perspective signals changes in memories that impact their veridicality and the legal applications to eyewitness testimony.