Defending or relinquishing belief in occurrence for remembered events that are challenged: A social‐cognitive model

Abstract

We describe a social-cognitive model explaining processing of cognitive dissonance resulting from being told by someone that a vividly remembered event did not actually occur. The model proposes that receiving challenges to one's recollection of events results in both intrapersonal and interpersonal cognitive dissonance. Rememberers process intrapersonal dissonance by weighing features of memory representations against the qualities of the feedback, and they process interpersonal elements by weighing the potential costs of agreeing or disagreeing with the challenger within the social dynamics of the relationship. To resolve the dissonance, people will either maintain or reduce belief in occurrence for the event, and will agree or disagree with the challenger. We explore factors that can influence dissonance and how they impact the rememberers' beliefs in occurrence of the event and their interaction with challengers in terms of defending or relinquishing their memory, and we discuss preliminary data confirming some of these factors. K E Y W O R D S autobiographical memory, cognitive dissonance and memory, disputed memories, memory and belief, nonbelieved memories, social influences on memory This article was submitted after Alan Scoboria passed away in April 2019. The model itself, the ideas, data collection and analyses, and initial draft were completed by him. Linda Henkel gave feedback on earlier drafts and concepts, and then she completed unfinished sections, created the graphic of the model, extended the literature review, and edited and finalized the manuscript, including responses to reviews. Thanks to Giuliana Mazzoni, Rob Nash, and Henry Otgaar for feedback and suggestions. May Alan's ideas continue to inform, intrigue, and inspire people for years to come.

Commentary for special issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology in honor of Alan Scoboria

“…We are not all of a piece. Scoboria and Henkel (2020) presented a fascinating set of ideas as to how we negotiate multiple influences to navigate the shifting seas of our autobiographical memories and beliefs.…”

What happens after debriefing? The effectiveness and benefits of postexperimental debriefing

“…One model that provides an overarching, theoretical explanation for these differing methods of studying the retraction of false information is the SCOboria social-cognitive dissonance model (Scoboria & Henkel, 2020). This model proposes a process for "what happens when people receive disconfirmatory social feedback about events that they remember happening to them" (p. 1244).…”

“…This model may help explain how debriefing quality can impact memory. If debriefing is credible, persuasive, and delivered by a person in a position of power, this increases the likelihood participants will comply with the feedback or relinquish the memory (Scoboria & Henkel, 2020). On the other hand, if the initial suggestion is strong and thus participants develop a strong false memory, then the feedback given through debriefing may not be strong enough to outweigh memory strength in resolving intrapersonal dissonance.…”

Introduction to the special issue. Answering questions raised by a well‐known Italian collective child abuse case

“…The first paper in this issue, by Alan Scoboria and Linda Henkel (Scoboria & Henkel, 2020), addresses the question very similar to the one asked for the young adults in the Italian case, some of whom hold their memories as true, while others have decided to disavow them. The paper proposes a new comprehensive model that represents Alan's last formulation of the issue, and describes and examines the mechanisms involved in defending and relinquishing the belief in personal memories.…”

“…The first paper in this issue, by Alan Scoboria and Linda Henkel (Scoboria & Henkel, 2020), addresses the question very similar to the one asked for the young adults in the Italian case, some of whom hold their memories as true, while others have decided to disavow them.…”