Who doesn't believe their memories? Development and validation of a new Memory Distrust Scale.

Abstract

Many people distrust their memories, because they believe themselves prone to omission errors such as forgetfulness, and/or commission errors such as misremembering. However, the most popular psychometric measure of memory distrust-the Squire Subjective Memory Questionnaire (SSMQ)-only probes people's beliefs about omission errors, not commission errors. The present research describes a new memory distrust measure that assesses the latter kind of metamemorial belief. Two studies (combined N = 797) showed that our 20-item Memory Distrust Scale (MDS) has good psychometric properties, and is correlated with-but distinct from-the SSMQ. Participants in Study 2 described eight childhood events and rated their recollection of and belief in the occurrence of each. MDS scores were associated with the spontaneous reporting of nonbelieved memories and predicted belief in occurrence better than did SSMQ scores. Our data suggest that the MDS and SSMQ in combination could better predict individual susceptibility to certain memory errors.

Examining the associations between nonbelieved memories and memory distrust, self-esteem, and rumination.

“…Specifically, they argued the SSMQ only focuses on memory distrust toward committing omission errors (i.e., forgetting about past experiences) while NBMs are more closely related to worrying about committing commission errors (i.e., remembering about events that did not happen in the past). In light of the limitations of the SSMQ, Nash et al (2022) developed and validated a new scale for measuring memory distrust (Memory Distrust Scale) toward commission errors and it has shown superior predictive power for belief reduction compared with the SSMQ. However, the validation of this new scale was only available to us after the data collection has already finished.…”

“…Recent studies have focused on trait memory distrust as a potential individual marker being tied to the creation of NBMs (Nash et al, 2022; Zhang, Otgaar, et al, 2022). Memory distrust was first coined to describe a mental state where people develop profound distrust toward their own memories and is oftentimes mentioned in discussions on how false confessions can occur (Gudjonsson, 2017).…”

“…One weakness of the present study is that the SSMQ might not cover all aspects of memory distrust. The weakness of relying on solely the SSMQ to measure memory distrust has recently been discussed by Nash et al (2022). Specifically, they argued the SSMQ only focuses on memory distrust toward committing omission errors (i.e., forgetting about past experiences) while NBMs are more closely related to worrying about committing commission errors (i.e., remembering about events that did not happen in the past).…”

Preference for Cheap-and-Easy Memory Verification Strategies is Strongest among People with High Memory Distrust

“…Preprint: CHEAP-STRATEGY BIAS AND MEMORY DISTRUST Finally, participants completed two memory distrust measures: the SSMQ (van Bergen et al, 2010a) and the MDS (Nash et al, 2022), with a total of three attention checks embedded (e.g., "This is an attention check item, please choose response option 7"). As introduced earlier, the SSMQ is an 18-item questionnaire answered on a 9-point scale (-4 = disastrous to 4 = perfect) focusing on people's distrust toward omission memory errors.…”

“…That is, some people are more likely than others to consider that their memories might be distorted or entirely false. Because the SSMQ focuses only on beliefs about omission errors and not commission errors, Nash et al (2022) developed and validated a new measure-the Memory Distrust Scale (MDS)-which focused on the latter type of belief, with participants indicating their agreement with items such as "I often turn to other people to help me decide whether my memories are accurate".…”