When Do We Confuse Self and Other in Action Memory? Reduced False Memories of Self-Performance after Observing Actions by an Out-Group vs. In-Group Actor

Abstract

Observing another person performing an action can lead to a false memory of having performed the action oneself – the observation-inflation effect. In the experimental paradigm, participants first perform or do not perform simple actions, and then observe another person perform some of these actions. The observation-inflation effect is found when participants later remember performing actions that they have merely observed. In this case, self and other are confused in action memory. We examined social conditions of this self-other confusion when remembering actions, specifically whether the effect depends on the observed actor’s group membership. In our experiment, we manipulated group membership based on physical appearance, specifically complexion of the hands. Fair-skinned participants observed either an in-group (i.e., fair-skinned) or an out-group (i.e., dark-skinned) actor. Our results revealed that the observed actor’s group membership moderated the observation-inflation effect: False memories were significantly reduced when the actor was from the out-group (vs. in-group). We found no difference to a control condition in which the actor wore black gloves, suggesting that distinctiveness of perceptual or sensory features alone (due to the out-group member’s dark skin) is not critical. We discuss these findings in light of social-neuroscience studies demonstrating the impact of an observed person’s group membership on motor simulation. Overall, our findings suggest that action memory can be affected by a ubiquitous feature of people’s social perception, that is, group-based social categorization of others.

Imagination inflation in the mirror: Can imagining others' actions induce false memories of self-performance?

“…Instead of using a two-step memory test like in the first experiments, we directly asked our participants to choose from three options to answer whether a depicted action had been performed, read, or not presented (no mention was made of the subject in order to be able to use the same formulation in both groups). We have used this one-step procedure repeatedly in former studies and obtained comparable results to the two-step memory test used in Experiments 1 and 2 (e.g., Lindner et al, 2012;Schain et al, 2012).…”

“…Because our results were not consistent with a sensory-similarity account (Lindner et al, 2010, Exp. 3;Lindner et al, 2012), we have proposed an alternative account building on motor-simulation research. A growing body of literature has shown that observers covertly simulate actions performed by another person as if they are performing these actions themselves (e.g., Grèzes & Decety, 2001;Wilson & Knoblich, 2005).…”

“…Instead, both were asked to read the sentences out loud. This procedure has successfully been employed in similar studies (e.g., Lindner, Schain, Kopietz, & Echterhoff, 2012;Schain, Lindner, Beck, & Echterhoff, 2012) and also allowed us to reduce interactions between participants and experimenters. Participants and experimenters were seated across from each other at a table.…”

Confusing what you heard with what you did: False action-memories from auditory cues

“…Thus, watching someone else pour water into a glass can lead people to claim mistakenly that they themselves performed this action, dubbed the observation-inflation effect (Lindner, Schain, Kopietz, & Echterhoff, 2012;Schain, Lindner, Beck, & Echterhoff, 2012). Exposure to photographs of actions involving objects in their completed states in Phase 2 (e.g., seeing a photo of an empty water bottle with a full glass of water beside it) also induces false claims of having performed those actions, the photo-inflation effect (Henkel, 2011).…”

Examining the role of memory in social cognition

“…Brown et al (2012) argue that this malleable nature of memory serves a socially adaptive function: The content of personal memories merge in the process of social interaction and this, in turn, fosters a sense of collective identity. The work of Lindner et al (2012) suggests that there may be certain boundaries to this effect, however, that are driven by group membership.…”