False Memory
False Memory and Your Imagination
Diana Bunch
PSY 511
False Memory and Your Imagination The power of suggestion or through a vivid imagination are just a couple ways that psychological research has shown ways in which false memories are created. A false memory is an untrue or distorted reminiscence of an event that did not actually happen. In reality, memory is very susceptible to error. People can feel completely assured that their memory is accurate, but this assurance is no guarantee that a specific memory is correct. Existing knowledge and other memories can affect the creation of a new memory, causing the memory of an event to be mistaken or entirely false. Memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus (1997) has demonstrated through her research that it is possible to induce false memories through suggestion. She has also shown that these memories can become stronger and more vivid as time goes on. Over time, memories become distorted and begin to change. In some case, the original memory may be changed in order to incorporate new information or experiences. Brainerd, Forrest, Karibian, and Reyna (2006) concluded that the developmental course of a false memory illusion involves a level of qualitative change. They conducted an experiment studying six such effects along with an alternative method of measuring developmental increases in the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) illusion comparing learning-disabled children versus nonlearning-disabled children. They hypothesized that learning-disabled children ought to display even less vulnerability to the illusion than nondisabled children of similar age. The six effects included list strength, recall inflation, delayed inflation, delayed stability, thematic intrusion, and true-false dissociation. The study consisted of two different experiments, the first involving comparing 60 kindergarten and first graders to 60 fifth and sixth graders using all six effects to study developmental interactions. The qualitative change
Diana Bunch
PSY 511
False Memory and Your Imagination The power of suggestion or through a vivid imagination are just a couple ways that psychological research has shown ways in which false memories are created. A false memory is an untrue or distorted reminiscence of an event that did not actually happen. In reality, memory is very susceptible to error. People can feel completely assured that their memory is accurate, but this assurance is no guarantee that a specific memory is correct. Existing knowledge and other memories can affect the creation of a new memory, causing the memory of an event to be mistaken or entirely false. Memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus (1997) has demonstrated through her research that it is possible to induce false memories through suggestion. She has also shown that these memories can become stronger and more vivid as time goes on. Over time, memories become distorted and begin to change. In some case, the original memory may be changed in order to incorporate new information or experiences. Brainerd, Forrest, Karibian, and Reyna (2006) concluded that the developmental course of a false memory illusion involves a level of qualitative change. They conducted an experiment studying six such effects along with an alternative method of measuring developmental increases in the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) illusion comparing learning-disabled children versus nonlearning-disabled children. They hypothesized that learning-disabled children ought to display even less vulnerability to the illusion than nondisabled children of similar age. The six effects included list strength, recall inflation, delayed inflation, delayed stability, thematic intrusion, and true-false dissociation. The study consisted of two different experiments, the first involving comparing 60 kindergarten and first graders to 60 fifth and sixth graders using all six effects to study developmental interactions. The qualitative change
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