Noticing and Creating False Memories
Written by Jaskirat Bajwa
Have you ever wondered if people can perfectly remember an event without making up parts of that memory? How can we find out if others are telling us true details of an event? How might new versions of memories even come to us?
The phenomenon of autobiographical false memory is defined as a person’s flawed memory for an event in their past (Shaw, 2020). The individual may unintentionally manipulate a portion of their memory or even go to the extreme of changing the whole memory for an event (Shaw, 2020).
There are various reasons why it’s hard to tell if someone is describing a false memory. First, memories happen within a person’s mind; we cannot see into the minds of others, so we must rely on what others tell us. It’s often easier to see if someone is lying because at some point they may make a mistake, but false memories are often associated with a genuine belief that an event occurred (Bernstein & Loftus, 2009); this makes it hard to determine the realness of what is being said. Also, how can we expect to know if another person is reporting a false memory when our own false memories sound believable to us (e.g., Loftus, 2005, as cited in Shaw, 2020)? Additionally, there is no specific body language or way of speaking that can reveal whether a memory is real. For example, in a study conducted by Shaw (2020), participants were asked to indicate whether a person in a video described either a real or a false memory. The participants were also asked to identify the cues used to make their decision, which was given as a list to the participants. Use of cues proved to be of no help in accurately deciding whether a memory was false.
It's hard to tell true memories from false memories, but it may not be impossible. For instance, how a memory is presented can affect our ability to tell whether it is true or false. People who only hear the voice of a person telling a false memory may have more difficulties noticing that the memory is not real (Shaw, 2020). Although more research is needed, it may be helpful to see and hear the person to better notice false memories (Shaw, 2020). Not only this, but an experiment by Schooler et al. (1986) found that participants who were prompted to create a false memory of a yield sign used fewer descriptions of the physical characteristics when explaining the sign compared to participants who had a true memory of that event. This shows that the type of information that the person talks about may reveal the nature of the memory. Now, a question that remains is, how do false memories form? One way that false memories form is by learning new information about a past event, which can interfere with a person’s original memory for that event (Loftus, 1996). For example, imagine that someone witnessed a car accident involving two cars. Later, they learned that a dog ran across the street just before the crash (they had not seen the dog). The witness’ memory of the event may change to include this new information. When asked about the accident, they might now say that they saw a dog run across the street right before the vehicles collided. The act of providing new information to individuals has serious consequences in the real world, especially when individuals are eyewitnesses to crimes. Therefore, when possible, people who are eyewitnesses should be interviewed as soon as possible to ensure that they are better able to remember the event (Chevroulet et al., 2022).
False memories can also form if the methods guide or force a person to think in a certain way. These methods can interfere with the accurate recall of a person’s memories i.e., false feedback (Loftus, 1996). The famous case of Eileen Franklin-Lipsker illustrates the potentially lifechanging consequences of methods used during therapy (Denzel, 2022). George Franklin, Eileen’s father, was sentenced for murder after Eileen, while in therapy, recalled a childhood memory of him committing a horrible crime. However, her therapist’s use of hypnosis in their sessions may have impacted the accuracy of Eileen’s memory. Hypnosis is a practice that creates a sense of calmness by talking and forming images in the mind, which makes it easier to change people’s thoughts and actions (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022). It was eventually found that Eileen’s memory was false and George Franklin was released (Denzel, 2022). This case shows how important it is to be mindful when talking to people in therapy. It’s possible that a therapist’s methods may result in false memories if proper care is not taken during the sessions (Muschalla & Schönborn, 2021). This case also reminds us of a harsh reality: false memories can have severe consequences.
If there is one message to take away after reading this, it is that the human mind can easily be changed, affecting our memories (Muschalla & Schönborn, 2021). In other words, our memories are not always perfect.
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References
Bernstein, D. M., & Loftus, E. F. (2009). How to tell if a particular memory is true or false. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4(4), 370-374. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01140.x
Chevroulet, C., Paterson, H. M., Yu, A., Chew, E., & Kemp, R. I. (2022). The impact of recall timing on the preservation of eyewitness memory. Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law, 29(3), 471-486. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2021.1926366
Denzel, S. (2022). George Franklin. The National Registry of Exonerations. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3221#
Loftus, E. F. (1996). Memory distortion and false memory creation. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 24(3), 281-295
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2022, November 17). Hypnosis. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hypnosis/about/pac-20394405
Muschalla, B., & Schönborn, F. (2021). Induction of false beliefs and false memories in laboratory studies - A systematic review. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 28(5), 1194-1209. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2567
Schooler, J. W., Gerhard, D., & Loftus, E. F. (1986). Qualities of the unreal. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 12(2), 171-181. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.12.2.171
Shaw, J. (2020). Do false memories look real? Evidence that people struggle to identify rich false memories of committing crime and other emotional events. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 650-650. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00650
Disclaimer
The blog posts are for informational and educational purposes only. The posts should not be considered as any type of advice (medical, mental health, legal, and/or religious advice). All blog posts have been researched, written, and edited by the undergraduate students and alumni of the Lifespan Cognition Lab. As a teaching and research-based lab, we encourage all lab members to help make knowledge more accessible to all communities through these posts.
