False Memory
v  How well do we remember?
v  How do we verify accuracy of memory?
v  Memory is influenced by attention, encoding,
Research
v  Deese (1959); Roediger & McDermott (1995)
v  The “DRM” paradigm
v  Learn 15 words related to critical associate (CA)
outside information
bed, rest, awake, tired, dream, wake, snooze, blanket,
doze, slumber, snore, nap, peace, yawn, drowsy
CA = sleep
Your lab
v  6 lists of 15 words
v  CA in each list
v  Recognition of studied words, distractors, CA
v  Prediction
Loftus & Palmer (1974)
Loftus & Palmer (1974)
v  Influence of leading questions
v  View film of car accident
v  How fast were the cars going when they
 
smashed?
 
collided?
 
bumped?
 
hit?
 
contacted?
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Loftus & Palmer (1974)
v  Two weeks later
v  Did you see any
broken glass?
Loftus, Miller, & Burns (1978)
v  30 slides of accident
v  Did another car pass the red Datsun while it was
stopped at the stop/yield sign?
Loftus, Miller, & Burns (1978)
v  Recognition test for slides
Theories
v  Substitution (Loftus) vs. Coexistence
v  Evidence against coexistence
Memory for traumatic events
v  Wagenaar & Groenweg (1990)
v 
memory of concentration camp survivors
v  Donald Thompson
v  Real-world cautions: police questioning, suggestive
therapy
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Combating false memories
Can we correct false memories?
v  Minimize time
v  Continued influence effect – discredited
v  Warnings
v  Cognitive interview
misinformation still has an effect
v  Ecker et al. (2011) – does the strength of the
misinformation or the retraction have an effect?
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