Memory refers to “the facts, events, or other types of information we have acquired in the past and the processes involved in the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of this information” (Glisky, 2011). We rely every day on the validity of our memories to perform basic functions such as remembering our name, age, and home address. Our memory also constitutes an integral part of our personality: the memory of our life experiences. But can we trust our memory? This essay will attempt to demonstrate that although we may feel as if our memory is certain, it is easily deceived and cannot be relied upon for accuracy. This will be achieved using an explanation of bias and its effect on source memory in two different psychological studies: Appearance-Based Inferences Bias Source Memory (Cassidy, Zebrowitz, & Gutchess, 2012) and Who's Funny: Gender Stereotypes, Humor Production, and Memory Bias (Mickes et al., 2012). The first study examines how facial characteristics influence source memory, and the second study investigates the interrelationship between gender and humor and how associated biases and stereotypes influence recall of comedic captions. Source memory is the ability to remember the context in which information was presented, rather than what was presented alone (Pandey, 2011). Furthermore, it must be established that, in this context, bias is defined as “the distorting influence of current knowledge, beliefs, and feelings on the memory of previous experiences” (Schacter, 1999). The first study, Appearance-Based Inferences Bias Source Memory, investigated how facial characteristics, in this case whether or not a person had a "baby face" (IV), contribute to source memory (DV). Someone is considered to have "baby face" when...... middle of paper ......inferences made distort the source's memory. Memory and Cognition, 40(8), pp.1214–1224.Glisky, E. (2011). Memory. In Caplan, B., DeLuca, J., & Kreutzer, J. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Hicks, J., & Cockman, D. (2003). The effect of general knowledge on source memory and decision making. Journal Of Memory And Language, 48(3), 489--501.Mickes, L., Walker, D., Parris, J., Mankoff, R., & Christenfeld, N. (2012). Who's funny: Gender stereotypes, humor production, and memory biases. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 19(1), pp.108–112. Pandey, J. (2011). Source memory. In Caplan, B., DeLuca, J., & Kreutzer, J. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Schacter, D. L. (1999). The seven sins of memory: insights from psychology and cognitive neuroscience. American Psychologist, 54 (3), p. 182.