Methods of Studying False Memory

Otgaar, Henry; Houben, Sanne T. L.; Howe, Mark L.

doi:10.4324/9780429439957-14

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…A plethora of research has revealed that already from a young age (4–5 years old) people are able to accurately recount traumatic experiences [2, 3, 4]. However, research also suggests that memories can be tainted under suggestive conditions such as suggestive therapeutic interventions leading to so‐called false memories [5, 6, 7]. False memories are memories of details or events that were not experienced [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A court ruled case on therapy‐induced false memories

Otgaar

Curci

Mangiulli

et al. 2022

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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We report on a unique Italian criminal case in which a court ruled that a therapist implanted false memories of abuse in a young girl. Using therapeutic excerpts, we show that the therapist used a multitude of problematic interventions that are all linked to false memory creation. Specifically, an analysis of the therapeutic excerpts showed that across many sessions, the therapist asked highly suggestive questions to the girl, implying that she was abused by her father. In addition, the girl underwent EMDR techniques that have been associated with memory undermining effects. Our

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A court ruled case on therapy‐induced false memories

Otgaar

Curci

Mangiulli

et al. 2022

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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“…However, Associative‐activation Theory (Howe et al., 2009; Otgaar et al., 2019) would lead to a different interpretation. Associative‐activation theory postulates that representations of our memories are encoded in a system of related knowledge nodes (i.e., concepts such as “chair” or “wooden”) that have associations with each other.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating denial increases false memory rates for abuse unrelated information

Bücken

Mangiulli

Otgaar

2022

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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Victims of abuse might deny their traumatic experiences.We studied mnemonic effects of simulating false denial of a child sexual abuse narrative. Participants (N = 127) read and empathized with the main character of this narrative.Next, half were instructed to falsely deny abuse-related information while others responded honestly in an interview. One week later, participants received misinformation for the narrative and interview. In a final source memory task, participants' memory for the narrative and interview was tested. Participants who falsely denied abuse-related information endorsed more abuse-unrelated misinformation about the event than honest participants. Abuse-related false memory rates did not statistically differ between the groups, and false denials were not related to omission errors about (1) the interview and (2) narrative. Hence, victim's memory for abuse-related information related to their experience might not be affected by a false denial, and inconsistencies surrounding the abuse-unrelated information are more likely to take place.

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“…Indeed, there are no studies that show that a once accessible and documented childhood explicit/declarative memory becomes inaccessible and then accessible again. On the other hand, we do have considerable evidence that early childhood memories of events that never happened can be implanted in older children and adults (for recent reviews, see Otgaar, Houben, & Howe, 2019;Scoboria et al, 2017). In fact, it turns out that it is easier to implant false autobiographical memories in adults for childhood events that occurred during the period of childhood amnesia than it is to implant those same memories for events after the period of childhood amnesia (e.g., Strange, Wade, & Hayne, 2008).…”

Section: Remembering Early Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Childhood Memories Are not Repressed: Either They Were Never Formed or Were Quickly Forgotten

Howe

2022

Topics in Cognitive Science

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Early childhood events are rarely remembered in adulthood. In fact, memory for these early experiences declines during childhood itself. This holds regardless of whether these memories of autobiographical experiences are traumatic or mundane, everyday experiences. Indeed, what people tend to remember from their childhoods involves relatively innocuous experiences, ones often devoid of emotion. In this article, I provide an overview of the types of memories adults recall from their childhoods and the ages at which these memories are believed to have been formed. Along the way, I provide a brief exegesis of the neurobiological and cognitive underpinnings of early memory development. I will show that changes and growth in neural interconnectivity as well as the development of various cognitive structures (e.g., the inception of the cognitive self) help propel the emergence of a mature autobiographical memory system, one that can and does serve as a reconstructive base for remembering events that occur in later childhood and adulthood. During the course of this review, I detail the nature of early memories, their fragility, and the adaptive consequences of forgetting and supplanting these memories with newer, more age-appropriate experiences throughout childhood.

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Methods of Studying False Memory

Cited by 7 publications

References 55 publications

A court ruled case on therapy‐induced false memories

A court ruled case on therapy‐induced false memories

Simulating denial increases false memory rates for abuse unrelated information

Early Childhood Memories Are not Repressed: Either They Were Never Formed or Were Quickly Forgotten

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