Familiarity breeds distortion: The effects of media exposure on false reports concerning media coverage of the terrorist attacks in London on 7 July 2005

Abstract

The present experiment investigated whether increased media exposure could lead to an increase in memory distortions regarding a traumatic public event: the explosion of the No. 30 bus in Tavistock Square, London on 7 July 2005. A total of 150 Swedish and 150 UK participants completed a series of questionnaires about their memory of either (i) the aftermath of the explosion, (ii) a non-existent computerised reconstruction of the moment of the explosion, or (iii) non-existent closed circuit television footage of the moment of the explosion. In line with the availability heuristic, U.K. participants were more likely than Swedish participants to claim to have seen all three types of footage. Furthermore, a subsample of U.K. participants who appeared to have developed false "memories" of seeing the No. 30 bus explode scored significantly higher on measures of dissociation and fantasy proneness than participants who did not develop false "memories". This experiment provides further support for the role of imaginative processes in the development of false memories.

Creating Memories for False Autobiographical Events in Childhood: A Systematic Review

“…Measures have largely relied on a self‐report and on participants' understanding of the difference between belief and memory, but with little systematic follow‐up to confirm the validity of their responses. Given the known difficulty participants have in interpreting questions about memory (Ost et al, 2008; Sjöden, Granhag, Ost, & Roos af Hjelmsäter, 2009; Smeets et al, 2006; Smeets et al, 2009), it would probably be premature to estimate the number of full autobiographical memories and to distinguish these from actual experiences, for example, of eating asparagus or yoghourt. It is interesting that despite these uncertainties, a number of the studies succeeded in bringing about small behavioural changes in their participants, for example, changing the amount of available food consumed in the laboratory (Scoboria, Mazzoni, & Jarry, 2008; Scoboria et al, 2012).…”

“…They suggest that there should be a more formal way of establishing the existence of a personal memory that takes into account the existence of a recollective experience together with confidence in that memory. One way of achieving this as suggested by Ost, Scoboria, Smeets and others (Ost et al, 2008; Sjöden et al, 2009; Smeets et al, 2006; Smeets et al, 2009) is that memory reports are followed up with individual questioning designed to have participants detail their confidence in different elements of their ‘memory’ and to make corresponding source judgements. It would also be valuable to test whether the increased false memory rate produced by personally relevant details is due to the retrieval of additional veridical elements that then find their way into recall of the suggested events or to the retrieval of a true event similar to the one that is being suggested.…”

“…For example, Smeets and colleagues (Smeets, Telgen, Ost, Jelicic, & Merckelbach, 2009) found that two‐thirds of their participants appeared to endorse having ‘memories’ of non‐existent footage of the assassination of the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, but more detailed questioning determined that in 80% of cases, their statements referred to beliefs rather than recollective experiences. Thus, while to outside observers, there may appear to be a ‘memory’ based on the language used, subjectively the individual may believe the event occurred without having an accompanying recollective experience (Ost, Granhag, Udell, & Roos af Hjelmsäter, 2008; Otgaar, Scoboria, & Smeets, 2013). Even if there is a recollective experience, this may not be believed (Mazzoni et al, 2010; Scoboria et al, 2014).…”

Sleep Deprivation and False Memories

“…Specifically, people sometimes falsely report that they viewed video footage of high-profile news events, even when no such 534694P SSXXX10.1177/0956797614534694Frenda et alSleep Deprivation andFalse Memories research-article2014 footage exists (e.g., Princess Diana's fatal car collision- Ost, Vrij, Costall, & Bull, 2002; see also Crombag, Wagenaar, & van Koppen, 1996;Ost, Granhag, Udell, & Hjelmsäter, 2008). Often, these participants provide detailed memory reports.…”

Crashing Memory 2.0: False Memories in Adults for an Upsetting Childhood Event

“…Ost, Granhag, Udell, and Hjelmsäter (2008) asked participants, 150 from Sweden and 150 from the UK to complete questionnaires about the explosion of the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square, London. UK participants were more likely to say they had seen nonexistent computer-generated image of the explosion, and nonexistent television footage of the explosion, compared with the Swedish participants (40% vs. 16%).…”