Discussion affects memory for true and false childhood events

Abstract

Although people often reminisce about their past experiences, little research has assessed how discussion might influence people's autobiographical memories. There were two major aims to this study: first, to assess how adults' memories for genuine childhood experiences might be affected by discussion, and second, to extend research on false memories by exploring how memories for false events might be affected by discussion. Siblings attempted to recall four childhood events-three true and one false-three times independently, and then discussed their memories with each other. Results showed that subjects incorporated elements from each other's reports into their own; 24% also reported details about the false event by the end of the individual phase, although false reports dropped dramatically after the discussion phase. Our research shows discussion can influence both true and false autobiographical memories.

Creating false memories for events that occurred before versus after the offset of childhood amnesia

“…We chose the balloon ride because it is a moderately significant and presumably unique event, yet it is available to all New Zealanders (with several balloon festivals and operators throughout the country). Moreover, it has also been used in several previous studies that have been conducted with both American and New Zealand children and adults (Ceci, Huffman, & Smith, & Loftus, 1994;Garry & Wade, 2005;French et al, 2006;Strange, Sutherland, & Garry, 2006;Wade et al, 2002).…”

“…The MQQ is a measure of the quality of a participant's recollection of each event and is made up of four statements adapted from earlier research (French et al, 2006;Wade et al, 2002): (1) ''as I remember the event, I feel as though I am reliving the original event''; (2) ''as I think about the event, I can actually remember it '. These questions were rated on a 7-point Likert scale, where 1 was ''not at all'' and 7 was ''as much as any memory''.…”

“…Under these conditions, collapsing across 13 published studies (French, Sutherland, & Garry, 2006;Garry & Wade, 2005;Heaps & Nash, 2001;Hyman & Billings, 1998;Hyman, Husband, & Billings, 1995;Hyman & Pentland, 1996;Lindsay et al, 2004;Loftus & Pickrell, 1996;Mazzoni & Memon, 2003;Ost, Foster, Costall, & Bull, 2005;Pezdek, Finger, & Hodge, 1997;Porter, Yuille, & Lehman, 1999;Wade et al, 2002), a weighted average of 37% of adults develop a false memory for these childhood events. 1 What we do not know is what would happen if participants were told that the false event took place substantially earlier in development, prior to the decline of childhood amnesia.…”

You say tomato? Collaborative remembering leads to more false memories for intimate couples than for strangers

“…For example, a study of siblings' memories for shared childhood experiences found that the vast majority (75%) of the details subjects remembered were different from the details their sibling remembered (French, Sutherland, & Garry, 2006). We do not take in everything we see; we rarely remember everything we take in; and we often cannot describe everything we have remembered.…”

Kinderen en valse herinneringen

“…Er zijn implantatieonderzoeken die gebruik maken van valse verhaaltjes (French, Sutherland, & Garry, 2006;Mazzoni, Loftus, & Kirsch, 2001;Ost, Foster, Costall, & Bull, 2005;Porter, Yuille, & Lehman, 1999). Grofweg komen deze onderzoeken op het volgende neer.…”