False Memory



Introduction

A false memory is implanted when another person, who may be a family member, confirms that the incident occurred in reality. Confirmation of an event when given by another person is a great technique for forming a false memory. In reality, just claiming to have viewed a person doing something which can lead the person to craft a false affirmation of misconduct. They may involve considering dreams to be playbacks of genuine experiences that may have occurred within your life (Smeets, Otgaar, Candel &Wolf, 2008).

Discussion

The table below lists the percentage of times each type of word was reported as being in the list. A false memory is report of a lure (an item that was not in the list). The expectation is that the related lure will often be reported (Addis, Wong, & Schacter, 2007).

Means based on data from 2572 participants.

Type Of StimulusPercent Recalled

Original List Item80.047

Unrelated Lure (not in list)6.311

Related Lure (not in list)72.907

Standard deviations based on data from 2572 participants.

Type Of StimulusPercent Recalled

Original List Item12.424

Unrelated Lure (not in list)12.109

Related Lure (not in list)25.958

Means based on data from 38 participants.

Type Of StimulusPercent Recalled

Original List Item86.341

Unrelated Lure (not in list)18.045

Related Lure (not in list)78.509

Standard deviations based on data from 38 participants.

Type Of StimulusPercent Recalled

Original List Item11.150

Unrelated Lure (not in list)30.809

Related Lure (not in list)27.099

False Memory in Children

False memories of events usually decrease with age. This signifies that as we grow into adulthood, the accuracy of our memory gets better. Let us discuss further about false memories and how they occur in children. A child might have a memory in which his mother spilled over a glass of milk on his father. This may be a false memory, as in reality it was his father who spilled the glass of milk on his mother. It would have ...