Cognitive- Loftus & Pickrell Flashcards
Background
False memories happen when post-event information changes the original memory so a person believes that the false information really was part of the original event, even though it never existed.
This study is an extension of a study done with a 14 year old boy, Chris, whom the researchers did the exact procedure with.
Aim
To discover whether it is possible to implant an entire false memory for an event that never happened.
Method
Method: Experiment with Self-Report interviews
Qualitative: personal details about these false memories
Quantitative: Percentages of recall, number of word descriptions, clarity and confidence ratings.
Variables (1 IV, 3 DV)
IV - The three stages of booklet completion, Interview 1 and Interview 2
Note: the time interval between the three was abandoned because of unavailability of the participants
DV1 – percentage of participants recalling true and false events at all three stages
DV2 – ratings of clarity of memory, 1(not clear at all) to 10 (extremely clear)
DV3 – ratings of confidence in ability to recall more detail, 1 (not confident) to 5 (extremely confident)
Design
Repeated Measures
All participants completed all conditions of the independent variable (booklet, Interview 1 and Interview 2)
Sample
24 participants went to the lab with a close family member (usually a parent or sibling)
The ‘relative’ member had to be knowledgeable about subjects from the person’s early childhood
3 males, 21 females (ages 18-53)
Nobody in a pair was younger than 18
Sampling Technique?
Opportunity Sample – participants were recruited by University of Washington students
Apparatus
Subjects were mailed a 5 page booklet with instructions
Contained 4 short stories of events that their relative described of the subject’s childhood
3 were real (stories given by relative), 1 was fake (about getting lost in a mall)
False memory event was always the 3rd event presented
Each story was a paragraph with space below for recording details of memories about the story
Controls
All four stories were a paragraph long and each false story appeared in third position in the booklet
The ‘Lost in Mall’ false story was constructed from an interview with a relative who confirmed that the participant had not actually been lost. All false stories included the following true features: where the family shopped; family members who usually went shopping; shops that would attract interest
The ‘Lost in Mall’ false story also included lies:
- Lost for an extended period
- Crying
- Lost in the mall or large department store at around the age of 5
- Found by an elderly woman
- Reunited with family
Procedure (Part 1) Relative
Interviews were conducted with a close family member of the subject
- Asked to determine events from the subjects childhood between the ages of 4-6
- Also asked to provide information about a plausible shopping trip that could have been taken when the subject was about 5.
Procedure (Part 2) booklet
The actual subjects were told they were participating in a study about childhood memories and why we remember some and not others (Ethics?)
They read a booklet containing different events & were told to write details down about what they remember from the events.
If they did not remember an event, they would write “I do not remember this.”
Once they finished the booklet, they mailed it back to the researchers.
Procedure (Part 3) lab
One to two weeks later the subject was interviewed either over the phone or at the university.
- Asked to recall as many details from these childhood events as possible.
- Rated their clarity and the content of the memory on a scale of 1 to 10
- Rated their confidence that they could remember more information if they were given more time on a scale of 1 to 5
Once finished, they were thanked an debriefed.
-They were asked to think about the memories, but not to discuss them. They were not told of the deception
Another session took place one to two weeks later, that was essentially the same. They were debriefed again Apologized to for the deception & having them try to guess the false memory
Results
49 out of 72 (68%) of the true events were remembered across the booklet, Interview 1 and Interview 2
7 out of 24 participants (29%) remembered the false event but one participant, after recalling the event, decided that she did not remember (so then 6 out of 24)
The participants were more detailed with the true memories (@138 words) than the false memories (@50 words)
They were clearer &more confident on the true memories than the false
19 of 24 (about 75%) of the participants resisted the false memory.
Conclusions
False memories can be formed
-Researchers said that they don’t know what percentage of people they can be formed in, but they did conclude that it is possible
This may be because the false memory was made believable.
-The elements were paired with elements that are common to most people’s lives, like being in a mall, crying & getting lost, which would make it easy to mistake this false memory with another one that is real
Strengths
High level of control
Some parts were conducted in a lab
All of the variables were kept consistent for each participant
-False memory always the third
-False memory had the same content.
-Interviews always scheduled the same time apart from each other
The real stories came from relative.
Both qualitative & quantitative data.
Verified the possibility of the participant actually getting lost in a mall at the age of 5.
Weaknesses
Awkward task
- Had to write everything they remember about each memory
- Interviews over telephone
Ethical Issues
- Could cause psychological harm
- Deception - Made people believe in a memory that wasn’t true
Sample/Sampling Technique
- Sample bias: All the participants will have known a Washington University student, so may have other important characteristics in common making them less representative
- Gender bias: because more females (and findings may not generalize to males)
- Demand characteristics: All the participants will have known a psychology student, this might have made them more suspicious about the experiment.
