Can false denials turn fact into fiction? The effect of false denials on memory for self-performed actions

Abstract

We examined the mnemonic effects of falsely denying a self-performed action. Specifically, participants (N = 30) performed, imagined, or received no instruction about 24 action statements (e.g., “cross your arms”). Next, their memory for whether they had performed, imagined, or did nothing (i.e., received no instructions) with these actions was tested. Subsequently, participants were instructed to repeatedly deny an action they had performed (false denial) and to repeatedly claim to have performed an action they had only imagined (false admission). In a final sorting memory task, 54% (n = 16) of participants erroneously indicated, after false admissions, that they had performed the imagined action. None of the participants indicated that they had only imagined an action after false denials, showing that it might be difficult to forget a performed action, even after repeatedly denying it. The current experiment sets the stage for future research to investigate why it seems to be difficult to forget performed actions.

Simulating denial increases false memory rates for abuse unrelated information

“…However, research has shown that suggestion-based false memories and spontaneous false memories are not necessarily related to one another, and studying false memories in different paradigms can lead to different results (Otgaar & Candel, 2011;Otgaar et al, 2017;Ost et al, 2013). Moreover, the current paper employed a victim perspective, whereas Otgaar et al (2020) studied false denials and false memories from a witnessing perspective, which might impact memory effects differently (Bücken et al, 2022).…”

“…Moreover, the current paper employed a victim perspective, whereas Otgaar et al. (2020) studied false denials and false memories from a witnessing perspective, which might impact memory effects differently (Bücken et al., 2022).…”

“…This is not in line with previous research on the mnemonic effects of false denials from a witnessing perspective (for a review, Otgaar & Baker, 2018; but also Battista et al., 2021; Otgaar et al., 2018; Romeo et al., 2019). However, a recent study has shown that the mnemonic effects of false denials might vary based on the perspective with which this type of lie is studied (Bücken et al., 2022). Indeed, in the current study, participants had to roleplay being the victim.…”

“…Specifically, self‐performed actions are better remembered compared with actions we watch someone else perform, also known as the action superiority effect (Engelkamp & Cohen, 1991; Engelkamp et al., 2004). A recent study found that even after false denials, participants do not forget that they performed certain actions (Bücken et al., 2022) showing the memory strength of self‐performed actions. Furthermore, when directly experiencing an event as a victim, something called the self‐reference effect likely sets in which stipulates that information related to the self is remembered better than information related to someone else (Symons & Johnson, 1997).…”