Memory is your mind's storehouse, the reservoir of your accumulated
learning. The persistence of learning over time is through storage and
retrieval.
Annotations:
Retroactive interference : It occurs when new learning or new information interferes with you ability to recall what you learned earlier.
AIM
1. To understand how we get
tricked (memory distortion) by
revised data about a witnessed
event
2. Can a false memory be implanted?
SAMPLE
24 participants - (3M, 21F) recruited by the university
of Washington students
A pair of individuals - subject and subjects
relative (who had knowledge about the
childhood events of the subject)
MATERIAL
5 page booklet - cover letter with
instructions for completing the booklet and
schedule for interviews
4 SHORT STORIES - 3 true events (provided by
the relative) and 1 false event about child
getting lost. Single Paragraphs about each
event , remaining pages blank for Participants to
reproduce memory
ORDER OF EVENTS
WAS SAME - False
event always on 3rd
position
PROCEDURE
SUBJECT'S RELATIVE was interviewed to obtain
3 events that happened to the subject between 4
to 6 years of age. NOT TO BE FAMILY FOLKLORE
OR TRAUMATIC EVENTS. information about a
plausible shopping trip was obtained (where they
usually shpped when subject was 5 yrs old, who
went along, which store attracted the subject's
attention and verification that subject was not lost
in a mall at the age of 5)
Features of the false event : 1. lost for an extended period, 2.
Crying, 3. lost in a mall at the age of 5, 4. found and aided by an
elderly woman, 5. reunited with family.
Subject told the study is
about childhood memories
and how and why people
remember some and not
others
Told to read and write anything they
remember about each event - if not
remembered write "i dont remember this",
booklet mailed back
SUBJECTS CALLED AND
SCHEDULED FOR 2 INTERVIEWS
Annotations:
1st interview - 1 or 2 weeks after the reciept of the booklet
2nd interview- 1 or 2 weeks after the 1st interview
interviewers - 2 females
1ST INTERVIEW - REMINDED OF EACH EVENT, ASKED TO RECALL AS MUCH AS THEY COULD. 2.
Rated their clarity on a scale of 1-10, 3. Rated their confidence on a 5 point scale, that if given more
time they would remember. Same for 2nd interview
After the 2nd interview - DEBRIEFED AND ASKED TO
CHOOSE WHICH OF THE 4 EVENTS WAS FALSE.
RESULTS
MEMORY FOR EVENTS
TRUE EVENTS - 49/ 72 (68%) were
remembered in the booklet, constant for 1st and
2nd interview
FALSE EVENT - 7/24 partially or fully
remembered, in the 1st interview it dropped to
6/24, which was held constant in the 2nd
interview
Number of words used to describe memories
True memories - 138.0
False memory - 49.9
Clarity ratings for events
True events - 6.3 (constant for
both interviews)
False event - 2.8 in 1st
interview, 3.6 in 2nd interview
Confidence ratings for events
True events - 2.7 in 1st interview, 2.2 in 2nd
False event - 1.8 in 1st interview,
1.4 in 2nd
when asked to choose false event after debriefing
19/24 correctly chose the false event as getting lost
CONCLUSION
1. People can be lead to believe entire events happen to them after
suggestions to that effect - existance proof for the phenomenon of false
memory information. 2. Memory can be altered via suggestion . 3.
Advantages and Disadvantages
1.Experiment - High level of control, standardized
procedures for all participants. 2. Ecological validity is
high - False event made believable, cannot be easily
identified (little chance of demand characteristics) and all
memories were real world scenarios 3. Interview -
quantitative and qualitative data - objective and rich data
obtained. 4. Ethics - debriefing and confidentiality.
5.Usefulness and Application.
Usefulness and Application
1. Sample - unrepresentative. 2.False memory was a
common situation, participants could have been recalling
that memory. 3. Ethics - Deception and there could have
been harm done to the participants (mentally).
4.Questionnaire - could be untruthful and call relatives to
verify.