Studies of collective memory have traditionally been the domain of philosophers and sociologists, while cognitive psychologists have largely investigated memory at the level of the individual. However, within cognitive psychology there is a variety of psychological theories and experimental paradigms that have been used to study the process and outcomes of remembering in groups. In this paper we review the research on group remembering and draw together findings from different traditions. In doing so, we aim to answer a series of questions about the outcomes and consequences of recalling in groups, and the particular features of groups and of memories that may be conducive to the formation of a collective memory. In clarifying what we know and what is yet to be studied about group memory, we point the way forward for a cognitive psychological study of collective memory.

The current study compared the effects of co-witness information on memory with more widely studied methods of encountering post-event information. Participants were shown a crime video and then exposed to both correct and incorrect post-event information about the video through one of four methods: (1) leading questions, (2) media report, (3) indirect co-witness information, or (4) cowitness discussion. There was also a control condition in which participants did not receive any postevent information. All participants were individually tested on their memories for the event 1 week later. Results suggest that co-witness information had a particularly strong influence on eyewitness memory, whether encountered through co-witness discussion or indirectly through a third party. That is, participants were more likely to report co-witness information than post-event information encountered through leading questions or a media report.

Fire-fighters suffer from high rates of mental disorders, with rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and heavy drinking continuing to rise in a linear manner with each additional trauma exposure. The level of psychiatric morbidity among retired fire-fighters appears to be particularly high. Our findings have important implications for the ongoing debates surrounding the detection of mental disorders in high-risk occupations and for policy considerations around the welfare of current and retired emergency workers.

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Witnesses who discuss an event with others often incorporate misinformation encountered during the discussion into their memory of the event. Two experiments were conducted to establish whether this memory conformity also occurs in the context of an interview and whether it is possible to reduce the effect. Participants viewed a crime-video which they then discussed with a co-witness. Some participants were warned they may have been exposed to misinformation during the discussion before all were interviewed individually. In Experiment 1, participants made remember/know judgments about each component of their free recall, and in Experiment 2 they were asked to indicate the source of their memories. Co-witness information was incorporated into participants' testimony, and this effect could not be significantly reduced using warnings and source-monitoring instructions. Remember/know judgments may be useful in distinguishing 'real' memories from false memories. We make some recommendations regarding the interviewing of witnesses.