According to Sternberg (1999), memory is the extraction of information from past experiences for use in the present. Memory recovery is essential in every aspect of daily life, whether for academic, work or social purposes. However, many often take memory for granted and assume that it can be relied upon because of how realistic it appears in the mind. This form of memory is also known as flash memory. (Brown and Kulik, 1977). The question of whether our memory is reliably accurate has been shown to have implications for providing accurate details of past events. (British Psychological Association, 2011). In this essay I would like to argue that human memory is, in fact, not entirely reliable in providing accurate representations of our past experiences. Evidence can be seen in the following two studies that support these arguments by examining episodic memory in humans. The first study is by Loftus and Pickrell (1995) who discovered that memory can be modified by suggestions. The second study is by Naveh-Benjamin and Craik (1995) who discovered that there is a predisposition to memory that decreases with increasing age. Human memory is highly susceptible to modification due to the irresistible nature of false memories. This causes the memory of events to be different from the way they happened or to be non-existent. (Roediger, Jacoby, & McDermott, 1996). Loftus and Pickrell's (1995) first study was to understand and determine whether human episodic memory, which is the memory of past events in thoughts and feelings at that time, could be modified by suggestive information. (Wheeler, Stuss, & Tulving, 1997). The independent variables were the types of information (3 true and 1 false) provided… half of the article… Dermott, KB (1996). Misinformation effects in recall: Creating false memories through repeated retrieval. Journal of Memory and Language, 5(2), 300-318. doi: 10.1006/jmla.1996.0017Sternberg, R. J. (1999). Cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers Schnitzspahn, K. M., Stahl, C., Zeintl, M., Kaller, C. P., & Kliegel, M. (2013). The role of shifting, updating, and inhibition in future memory performance in young and older adults. Developmental Psychology, 49(8), 1544-1553. doi: 10.1037/a0030579The British Psychological Society. (2011). Memory is not as reliable as we think. Retrieved from http://http://www.bps.org.uk/news/memory-not-reliable-we-thinkWheeler, M.A., Stuss, D, t., & Tulving, D. (1997). Toward a theory of episodic memory: The frontal lobes and autonoetic consciousness: Psychological bulletin, 121, 331-354