What can we remember after complex denials? The impact of different false denials on memory

Abstract

False denial is a deceptive strategy that requires fewer cognitive resources than other strategies (e.g. simulating amnesia, fabrication). In the present experiment, we examined the effects of different types of false denials varying in cognitive load on memory. Participants (N = 159) watched a video (theft) and then answered some questions about it. Some participants had to tell the truth about the theft, while others were either asked to falsely deny all the event-related details (i.e. simple false denial) or to falsely deny just some details of the same event (i.e. complex false denial). After two days, all participants completed a memory task in which they truthfully recognized whether details were (i) discussed during the interview or (ii) seen in the video. Additionally, recall scores (i.e. correct details, omissions, commissions) of the memory for the event were assessed. Participants who falsely denied all details reported a higher memory impairment for the interview than the other groups. Interestingly, liars who were engaged in complex denying had the largest memory impairment for the event and reported more commissions than those in the simple false denial group. This experiment shows that under certain conditions, memory is increasingly impaired for high cognitive load lies.

Involvement Modulates the Effects of Deception on Memory in Daily Life

“…People often deny the events or details of events that occur in daily life. Some studies have demonstrated that false denial could disrupt liar's memories and lead to the loss of memory about what they have lied about (Otgaar et al, 2018a(Otgaar et al, , 2020Battista et al, 2020aBattista et al, , 2021a, and this phenomenon is called the DIF effect (Otgaar et al, 2016). However, several studies have failed to obtain such an effect (Romeo et al, 2019b;Li et al, 2021b).…”

“…However, the present study suggests that the effects of deception on memory are also modulated when liars with different degrees of involvement adopt the same lying strategy. Another study had also found that the effects of deception on memory differed when the participants employed the same deceptive strategy (false denial) (Battista et al, 2021a). Therefore, the key factor modulating the effects of deception on memory may not be the types of deception strategies.…”

“…Lying can have negative consequences, especially for the liar's memory. A wealth of studies have consistently demonstrated that liars' memories can be disrupted by their lies (Otgaar et al, 2014a(Otgaar et al, , 2018a(Otgaar et al, , 2020Romeo et al, 2019b;Battista et al, 2020aBattista et al, , 2021a. People might forget some details of events that they have lied about (Otgaar et al, 2018a;Romeo et al, 2019b;Battista et al, 2020a), and they may also forget what they lied about during an interview (Battista et al, 2020a,b;Battista et al, 2021a).…”

“…Then, a source memory test, in which the participants are asked to identify the items whether they were asked about in the interview, is administered several days later, and the participants are asked to respond honestly. Comparing the performance between the groups in the source memory test, many studies in this field have found that participants in the false denial group lose more memories of what has been asked about in the interview than those in the honest group (Otgaar et al, 2014a(Otgaar et al, , 2016(Otgaar et al, , 2018a(Otgaar et al, , 2020Romeo et al, 2019a;Battista et al, 2021a). The pattern of results found in the source memory test has been considered to constitute a denial-induced forgetting (DIF) effect, which explains why participants in the false denial condition forget more interview details.…”

Research on the Effects of Lying on Memory: A Scientometric Analysis and a Call for New Studies

“…Indeed, the majority of studies carried out were not able to test which mechanisms (i.e., inhibition, retrievalinduced forgetting, source monitoring errors) can explain why lying undermines the memory for the original event but rather provided speculation about their results. Finally, some scholars also pointed out the need to take into consideration whether the perspective-taking (i.e., witness, offender, or victim) matters in the effects of lying on memory (Battista et al, 2021a) and the need also to simultaneously compare all the three strategies (i.e., false denials, feigned amnesia, and fabrication) (Battista et al, 2020(Battista et al, , 2021a.…”