This theory may be confusing because it doesn’t explain why the brain has timing errors in some moments but not others, although this could be due to a small malfunction in the brain that is common to us all. This theory suggests that when we perceive something, our brain is simultaneously trying to encode the new memory into our long-term memory, thereby creating the uncomfortable illusion that we have experienced it before. (For example, we will only temporarily remember the price of an item we bought.) Items stored in our short-term memory will be lost if we do not make an effort to fully encode them. If we continue to revise the processed information, it will eventually be transferred into our long-term memory where it is easier for us to retrieve. Similar to the previous theory, this hypothesis is another that involves memory acting incorrectly or using “ higher processing.” When we originally perceive something, our brain places it into our short-term memory.
However, this theory doesn’t offer an explanation as to why déjà vu occurs when the person experiencing it doesn’t recognize any of the stimuli involved in the déjà vu. When we remember something, it increases the strength of our neural pathways, meaning we are more likely to recall something which we repeatedly think about. This would also explain why the same déjà vu experiences can recur. A certain sight or smell might trigger our subconscious mind to recall a time when we saw or heard the same thing. This helps to explain déjà vu by showing how stimuli in the environment can easily provoke a memory. A famous psychological experiment, the Grant et al study, shows that our memory is context dependent, meaning that we can recall information better when placed in the same environment in which we studied it. This hypothesis tries to explain the sensation of déjà vu by linking it to our sensory perspectives.
This list includes 10 of the most interesting and thought-provoking examples! 10 A ‘Mix-Up’ Of Senses And Memory Then just as quickly as the bizarre feeling comes, it goes and we’re back to our normal reality.Īlthough an actual cause of déjà vu has yet to be confirmed by science, over 40 theories have been proposed to try to explain it. For a few seconds, we are convinced that we have lived the moment previously-to the point where it almost feels like we can predict what is going to happen next. Déjà vu is the name given to the unsettling feeling we get when we feel we have been in the exact same situation before.