There is a well-defined biological response to stress, said Daniel Reisberg, a professor of psychology and perception at Reed College in Portland, Ore. The body activates a stress response mechanism, or the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, or H.P.A., axis. The stress hormone cortisol causes a person to have tunnel vision in the extreme or a really narrow snapshot of what happened, Professor Reisberg said. The second a person walks away from an event, the memory of it starts to fade. This is when a memory can be contaminated by talking to the authorities, a lawyer, friends or bystanders, Professor Reisberg said.

Source: New York Times January 07, 2019 01:20 UTC