True Photographs and False Memories

Abstract

Some trauma-memory-oriented psychotherapists advise clients to review old family photo albums to cue suspected "repressed" memories of childhood sexual abuse. Old photos might cue long-forgotten memories, but when combined with other suggestive influences they might also contribute to false memories. We asked 45 undergraduates to work at remembering three school-related childhood events (two true events provided by parents and one pseudoevent). By random assignment, 23 subjects were also given their school classes' group photos from the years of the to-be-recalled events as memory cues. As predicted, the rate of false-memory reports was dramatically higher in the photo condition than in the no-photo condition. Indeed, the rate of false-memory reports in the photo condition was substantially higher than the rate in any previously published study.

Creating Memories for False Autobiographical Events in Childhood: A Systematic Review

“…Thus, excluding the two studies that did not employ imagery across all conditions (Hyman & Pentland, 1996; Qin, Ogle, & Goodman, 2008), the weighted mean percentage was 46.3% for the 12 studies using guided imagery but 26.8% for the eight studies not using imagery (Mann–Whitney test z  = 3.17, p  < .01). Providing an actual school photo increased the percentage of participants ‘recalling’ putting a manufactured compound called Slime in a teacher's desk from 46% to 78% (Lindsay et al, 2004). Using a narrative description along with a doctored photo of a hot air balloon ride, and presenting the narrative first, boosted recollective experiences considerably (Wade, Garry, Nash, & Harper, 2010).…”

“…Applying a more stringent definition of recollective experience, by excluding images not experienced as memories (Column 6), the percentage of participants who ‘recalled’ ranged from 0% for events selected for being implausible (Pezdek et al, 1997, Study 2, receiving an enema) to 65% (Lindsay et al, 2004, put Slime in teacher's desk). The weighted average was 25.45% (median 16%).…”

“…Once again, there was considerable variation within studies, and part of this appeared to be due to the provision of personal, self‐relevant information. Thus, inclusion of details like the name of a participant's teacher or photos of familiar individuals significantly boosted the rate of recollective experience (Desjardins & Scoboria, 2007; Hessen‐Kayfitz & Scoboria, 2012; Lindsay et al, 2004). …”

“…Measures of autobiographical belief indicate that mean confidence that false events had actually happened fell mainly in the lower half of the belief scale. Omitted from Table 4 are data on belief in true events that, when reported, was consistently higher (Desjardins & Scoboria, 2007; Lindsay et al, 2004; Wade et al, 2002). However, belief in a false event was much higher in one study when a more stringent definition of a false memory was used (Wade et al, 2002).…”

“…Hyman & Billings, 1998), however, illustrates that even in the case of ‘clear’ memories, participants are sometimes unconfident about their experiences or incorporate elements from their own biography that do not always fit the suggested scenarios. Other investigators have equally recognised that a visual image may not always be classified as an actual memory but have sometimes been less specific about requiring evidence of confidence in memory when defining a ‘full’ recollection, for example, by using as a criterion ‘if the subject appeared to believe he or she was remembering the suggested event’ (Lindsay, Hagen, Read, Wade, & Garry, 2004) (p. 151).…”