Week 6 - Misinformation and False Memories

Question 1

What are some types of post event information, which can lead to the misinformation effect?

Answer 1

Police interviewer, therapist, the media

Question 2

How is post event information conveyed?

Answer 2

via

• leading questions
• presentation of modified details (stop vs give way sign)
• presentation of non existent details (no stop sign)

Question 3

How can co witness discussions cause the misinformation effect, with the bombing example?

Answer 3

Only 1 witness claimed that McVeigh had an accomplish when hiring the truck. After a while, all 3 people suggested that they saw a second person. How do the police know if this was true?

Question 4

What percentage of cases does co witness discussion occurs?

Answer 4

58% of cases

Question 5

Lab studies demonstrate that what percentage of witnesses incorporated co-witness informaiton?

Answer 5

70%

Question 6

Co witness affects can occur even for _____

Answer 6

high confidence memories

Question 7

Co witness discussions have a stronger affect among

Answer 7

friends/partners over strangers. Causes memory blends.

Question 8

We try to prevent co witness discussions. If they do occur, it’s important for investigators to:

Answer 8

be aware of potential for effects on memory reports.

Question 9

What are some key issues with “repressed memories being uncovered in therapy”?

Answer 9

• is it possible to create false memories that seem real?
• is it possible to repress and recover memories?
• if not repression, could there be another mechanism that causes forgetting and recovery of memories?

Question 10

What’s the 3 step model to suggest that a genuine false memory has occurred?

Answer 10

1. perceive target event as plausible
2. come to believe it happened
3. reinterpret images and narrative to form a memory

Question 11

Lost in the mall studies show what?

Answer 11

That reading through their family journals, including the false event of being trapped in the mall, lead to a third or participants “remembering” being lost.

Question 12

What are other events which are plausible enough to create a false memory?

Answer 12

• attacked by a dog
• ruining a wedding
• saved by a lifeguard

Question 13

What was shown of the role of photographs in the hot balloon study, for false memories?

Answer 13

50% of participants ‘remembered’ the ride.

Some didn’t remember in the first interview, but remembered in the third.

Question 14

What happens with false memories when we use a photo which is not even related to the false memory? Used old yearbook photos, asked about a ‘slime’ incident.

Answer 14

Over 60% of these people said they could remember it happened, even though it never did, with an unrelated photo.

Question 15

What was demonstrated in betting studies (with false memories)?

Answer 15

That people are willing to bet almost just as much on their false suggested memories as they are their real ones.

Question 16

What did the egg studies show on false memories?

Answer 16

That it has lasting behavioural consequences (less egg sandwiches eaten), which were lasting even up to 4 months later.

Question 17

What is source monitoring?

Answer 17

helps us distinguishing different types of memories (true or false)

Question 18

Who was the most influential figure in source monitoring?

Answer 18

Marcia Johnson

Question 19

Real memories tend to be more:

Answer 19

Detailed, more sensory (visual, sound), perceptual and contextual detail (time, location, spatial arrangement).

Question 20

If the memory is more ambiguous:

Answer 20

source errors are more likely.

Question 21

If the memory is incomplete (gaps):

Answer 21

Source errors more likely (fill in missing details with those that make sense).

Question 22

The better working memory we have, the better we are at directing attention resources, the less likely we will have:

Answer 22

source errors

Question 23

Older people have difficulty in (to do with memory)

Answer 23

recalling context

Question 24

Are children more or less susceptible to source monitoring errors?

Answer 24

more susceptible

Question 25

One study asked participants to remember some words and forget other words. What did this show?

Answer 25

Brain activity in different words, depending on if they were suppressing vs. trying to remember.

Question 26

What were some criticisms of the Anderson studies on trying to forget/remember words?

Answer 26

• different patterns do not mean evidence for suppression
• participants still remembered a lot of the “suppressed” items (80% vs 87%)
• may be instead evidence of trying to forget

Question 27

In one study on repressed memories there were three groups. 1. continuous memory of abuse. 2. spontaneous recollection of abuse. 3. control (no abuse). What was interesting about the findings of this study?

Answer 27

That those in the recalled group found it a lot harder to remember words, when in another context in comparison to the other groups. Suggests that their memory is more dependent on context maybe?

Question 28

In therapy, continuous and spontaneously recovered abuse often had corroborating evidence. However, when abuse was recovered in suggestive therapy:

Answer 28

Rarely/if ever corroborated by evidence. Highly unlikely that this is a genuine memory.

Question 29

What did Brewin and Andrews conclude in their false memory paper? What was the response?

Answer 29

• false memories are “rare” (15%) and “hard to implant”

- response that 15% is a large proportion (1 in 5 people)

Question 30

Shaw and Porter claimed that they were able to implant rich false memories in 70% of participants. What was found when research was re looked at?

Answer 30

That once data was recoded with a better coding scheme, only 26-30% of false memories were found