Elaborative processes and false memory for suggested events

Repeated Exposure to Suggestion and the Creation of False Memories

Psychological Science ◽

10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00377.x ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 294-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 130

Author(s):

Maria S. Zaragoza ◽

Karen J. Mitchell

Keyword(s):

False Memory ◽

False Memories ◽

Repeated Exposure ◽

Single Exposure ◽

High Confidence ◽

Eyewitness Suggestibility ◽

The Creation ◽

Video Experiment ◽

Retention Intervals ◽

Suggested Events

The purpose of the present study was to extend research on repetition and illusory truth to the domain of eyewitness suggestibility Specifically, we assessed whether repeated exposure to suggestion, relative to a single exposure, facilitates the creation of false memory for suggested events After viewing a video of a burglary, subjects were asked questions containing misleading suggestions, some of which were repeated Their memory for the source of the suggestions was tested The results show that following repeated (relative to a single) exposure to suggestion, subjects were more likely to (a) claim with high confidence that they remembered the suggested events from the video (Experiment 1) and (b) claim that they consciously recollected witnessing the suggested events (Experiment 2) The effects of repeated exposure were highly reliable and were observed over retention intervals as long as 1 week

Download Full-text

Rich false memories of autobiographical events can be reversed

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2026447118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 118 (13) ◽

pp. e2026447118

Author(s):

Aileen Oeberst ◽

Merle Madita Wachendörfer ◽

Roland Imhoff ◽

Hartmut Blank

Keyword(s):

False Memory ◽

Practical Implication ◽

False Memories ◽

Family Narratives ◽

External Sources ◽

Repeated Interviews ◽

Potential Damage ◽

False Accusations ◽

Suggested Events

False memories of autobiographical events can create enormous problems in forensic settings (e.g., false accusations). While multiple studies succeeded in inducing false memories in interview settings, we present research trying to reverse this effect (and thereby reduce the potential damage) by means of two ecologically valid strategies. We first successfully implanted false memories for two plausible autobiographical events (suggested by the students’ parents, alongside two true events). Over three repeated interviews, participants developed false memories (measured by state-of-the-art coding) of the suggested events under minimally suggestive conditions (27%) and even more so using massive suggestion (56%). We then used two techniques to reduce false memory endorsement, source sensitization (alerting interviewees to possible external sources of the memories, e.g., family narratives) and false memory sensitization (raising the possibility of false memories being inadvertently created in memory interviews, delivered by a new interviewer). This reversed the false memory build-up over the first three interviews, returning false memory rates in both suggestion conditions to the baseline levels of the first interview (i.e., to ∼15% and ∼25%, respectively). By comparison, true event memories were endorsed at a higher level overall and less affected by either the repeated interviews or the sensitization techniques. In a 1-y follow-up (after the original interviews and debriefing), false memory rates further dropped to 5%, and participants overwhelmingly rejected the false events. One strong practical implication is that false memories can be substantially reduced by easy-to-implement techniques without causing collateral damage to true memories.

Download Full-text