Task 5 Flashcards
How to tell real memory from false memory?
–> How to tell if someone tells the truth?
2 types of lying: intentional vs. unintentional
1st) intentional = lying knowingly for some kind of gain
- history of lying
- lay a trap: slip ups
- micro-expressions
- unintentional = false memory OR false belief
- look at psychological measures (Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale, the Creative Imagination Scale, the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, working memory –> mixed findings)
- need for better research, meta-analysis
- -> in general these are only cues –> NO definitive answer
brain scanning:
ERP and fMRI studies often using word lists, pictures (true vs. false) etc.
- sensory activity is greater for true memories
- regions within the medial temporal lobe seem to be involved in false memory formation
- regions within prefrontal cortex seem to be involved in memory monitoring processes resulting in the reduction of false memories
- gamma waves best to distinguish true from false memories (electrophysiological activity of epilepsy patients)
–> not focused one autobiographical memories
–> findings apply to memory groups not particular memories
criteria-based content analysis:
- 19 cognitive and motivational criteria (e.g., logical structure, unusual details, spontaneous corrections)
- -> some success, but differences are small => many false positives!
- -> true memory reports tend to contain more detail
- especially sensory detail like sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell
- -> But there can also be “rich false memories” = very detailed
- recovered memory are often a red flag –> can be implanted false memory
Otgaar, H., Candel, I., Memon, A., & Almerigogna, J. (2010). Differentiating between children’s true and false memories using Reality Monitoring criteria.
AIM
METHOD
RESULTS
LIMITATIONS
- examine/show the effectiveness of reality monitoring (RM) to differentiate false and true memory
=> RM: in line with theory/research
–> true memories: more perceptual (sounds, smells) contextual (time, place and affective (feeling, mood) information = criteria
–> false memories: more information about cognitive processes (thoughts, reasoning) - 2 independent judges rated 190 transcripts from previous false memory studies with children
- in those previous studies there the children got told/implanted a false memory
- in each study there were 2 interviews
- other studies provided true memory interview transcripts
- judges were to judge according to the criteria of the RM whether certain details were present (ex. visual, spacial etc.)
- the total RM score was not significantly different –> not good to discriminate at all
- only visual details were more present in true memories (as predicted)
- affective details were more in the false memories (against prediction) –> might be due to content of the memories (bad injury vs. first day of school)
- true and false memories from different studies (not the same children)
- rather short accounts (difficult for applying the RM)
- usage of RM could lead to social influence (leading questioning) which again creates false memory
Patihis, L.,& Pendergast, H.M. (2019). Reports of recovered memories of abuse in therapy in a large age-representative U.S national sample: Therapy type and decade comparisons. Clinical Psychological Science. Therapy type and decade comparisons.
AIM
METHODS
RESULTS
LIMITATION
- estimate the prevalence of people who “recovered repressed memories” in therapy
- 2000 non-clinical adults completed a survey via a website in US
- they were asked:
1) whether they ever had therapy in their lifetime
2) whether the concept of repressed memories about childhood abuse was discussed/suggested by the therapist
3) whether they recovered those “repressed memories” - 1/2 had had therapy at some point in their life
- of those 1/5 said that their therapist discussed/suggested the possibility of “repressed memories”
- 1/10 claimed that they actually “recovered repressed memories”
- there was a peak in the 90s, but before and after just moderately lower
- when the therapist discussed the possibility the patients were 20x more likely to “recover memories”
- how?
- -> debate is still going strong!
(- good sample size) (- first study to examine this) - self-selection bias - might be misunderstood what repressed memory means - skimming questions, liberal yes-bias --> raising questions of generality
A sexual abuse case study (Leander, Christianson & Granhag, 2007)
- Why do children omit details about sexual child abuse?
1) Cognitive factors
- limited memory, language or knowledge (about sexual acts)
2) Unwillingness to disclose du to:
- shame, guilt, feeling of responsibility, fear, loyalty
A sexual abuse case study (Leander, Christianson & Granhag, 2007)
AIM
METHODS
RESULT
LIMITATIONS
- examines how children, who had been exposed to a single act of sexual abuse carried out by an unfamiliar perpetrator (the same perpetrator in all cases), remembered and reported on the abuse in subsequent police interviews
- transcribed police interview with 8 children
- other evidence included: interview with the perpetrator (confessed), photos etc.
- mostly accurate
- a lot of omission when it came to the sexual abuse
- younger children: most denial
- remembered preceding and succeeding event (pre a little better)
- -> probably deliberate omission
- -> reluctant to report, but accurate
Loftus, E.F. (2005). Planting misinformation in the human mind: A 30-year investigation of the malleability of memory.
- Why are there different ways by which people come to report misinformation item as their memory?
- What are misinformation memories like?
- What are rich false memories?
No one answer:
- original is not there available (faded or never stored)
- deliberation
- original event memories appears to have been impaired in the process of contemplating misinformation
- social influences
False memories:
- often verbal descriptions are longer
- verbal hedges are used more often (I think I saw)
- more references to cognitive operations
- fewer sensory details are reported
Rich false memories:
planting whole events (“Lost in the mall” experiments)
- very effective, subjects start with very little memory but over time after continues exposure to suggestive misinformation they will recall the false events in detail
- effective even for traumatic, implausible or impossible false memories
Methods of studying false memory by Otgaar, Houben, Howe
siehe overview (- imagination inflation --> "break a tooth pick" experiment)
What is a false memory?
- different types?
- false believes
= Remembering details or events that were not experienced - misinformation memories - rich false memories ---------------------- = no recollection/ memory trace
What factors influence the creation of false memory?Loftus, 2005
Time
- Discrepancy Detection principle = if you notice the discrepancy early on you are less likely to fall for it
- the more time passed between the misinformation and the test the more you are likely to attribute the information solely to the original stimuli
Temporary changes to ones change increase
Misinformation effect (believe that you were drunk)
Warnings (awareness about being misinformed)
- post-misinformation warnings only helped if the misinformation wasn’t highly accessible
Age
- generally speaking: the younger the child the more susceptible to misinformation
> except if its about association (like the Deese/Roediger-McDermott Paradigm)
Personality
- greater susceptibility to misinformation have been associated with empathy, absorption, and self-monitoring, day-dreaming
Memory
- the more one
has self-reported lapses in memory and attention, the more susceptible one is to misinformation effects
Bidrose, S., & Goodman, G.S. (2000). Testimony and evidence: A scientific case study of memory for child sexual abuse.
(compare study Leander et al.)
- methods
- results
- limitations
- 4 girls aged 8-15 who were sexually abused by the same perpetrator
- testimonies examined and also compared with other evidence (statement of the perpetrator etc.)
- support was found for 79% of all allegations & 86% was likely
- more omission then commission
- -> the perpetrator was actually threating the girls, so this might be one reason why they made omission errors
- -> in general highly reliable
- subjects were exposed to the evidence before being interviewed (or as Melanie put it = mistakes were made)
- Terr–> noted that if single abuse occurred usually well remembered but if it is re-occurring it is often poorly recounted –> he suggested it might be to do repression BUT we don’t think so!
- Jones & Krugman –> case-study of a 3-year old => even very young children report highly traumatic events pretty reliably
On repressed memory (Otgaar et al., 2019)
- What is the memory war?
- What is repressed memory?
- What is dissociative amnesia?
- Any proof for repressed memories?
- Any doubt?
- What could be other explanations?
- What do people believe?
- Side effects?
= the debate whether repressed memory does exist
trauma–>repression (inability to access it) –> recovery
= it is a coping mechanism to deal with very traumatising events of which the memories are inaccessible for a period of time (unconscious repression), but the person still experiences negative metal or physical effects form the trauma
Dissociative Amnesia (DSM-5)
- The inability to remember important autobiographical information that one would typically be able to recall
- A sense of detachment from self, including identity and emotions
- The forgetting causes distress in daily life, including at work, school, or with friends and family
- The disturbance is not due to substance use, a different mental health disorder, or another medical condition, such as a seizure or brain injury
- -> it is basically a fancy word for repressed memory
“Proof”
- many anecdotal evidence/cases exist
- it is based on Freuds ideas of the unconscious
Doubt
- “forgot-it-all-along” effect = person has the experience of currently remembering the event but also believing they had not previously remembered the event
- we are bad at “remembering remembering”
- does not goes along with memory research!!!
- PTSD –> flash-backs, intrusions
Why was a memory “recovered”? - other explanations
- supressed not repressed
- false memory (through suggestive therapy)
- forgotten because not perceived as abuse at the time (re-evaluation)
What people believe?
- the believe in laypeople and clinicians in repressed memory is still going strong! –> 2018-study around 90% of the clinicians stated that it at least sometimes happens
- it was not only in the 90s; it is still a very wide spread believe (probably because also because it is in the DSM-5)
- clinicians of all directions (Psychoanalysis, CBT etc.)
- legal people more sceptical
Side-effects
- after “recovery” people had a higher suicidal tendency
- panic attacks because of the “recovered memories”
