Psychology2016

248 CHAPTER 6

false events (e.g., getting a rectal enema). A second experiment (Pezdek & Hodge, 1999)

found similar results: Children were significantly less likely to form a false memory for an

implausible false event than for a plausible false event.

The idea that only plausible events can become false memories runs contrary to the

earlier work of Loftus and colleagues and to research concerning some very implausible

false memories that have been successfully implanted, such as a memory for satanic rituals

and alien abductions (Mack, 1994). Loftus and colleagues (Mazzoni et al., 2001) conducted

several experiments in which they found that implausible events could be made more

plausible by having the experimenters provide false feedback to the participants, who read

articles telling of the implausible events as if they had actually happened to other people.

The false feedback involved telling the participants that their responses to a questionnaire

about fears were typical of people who had been through one of the false events (much as

a well-meaning therapist might suggest to a client that certain anxieties and feelings are

typical of someone who has been abused). These manipulations were so successful that

participants not only developed false memories for the events but also even contradicted

their own earlier statements in which they denied having these experiences in childhood.

The researchers concluded that there are two steps that must occur before people will be

likely to interpret their thoughts and fantasies about false events as true memories:

1. The event must be made to seem as plausible as possible.


2. Individuals are given information that helps them believe that the event could have
   happened to them personally.
   The personality of the individual reporting such a memory also matters, it seems. In
   one study, people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens (an implausible event) were
   compared to a control group with no such memories on a measure of false-memory recall
   and false recognition. Those who reported recovered memories of alien abduction were far
   more likely to recall or recognize items that were false than were the controls (Clancy et al.,
   2002). Other variables that predicted a higher false recall and recognition response were sus-
   ceptibility to hypnosis, symptoms of depression, and the tendency to exhibit odd behavior
   and unusual beliefs (such as past-life regression or the healing ability of crystals).

Concept Map L.O. 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9

Interactive

Long-Term Memories

automatic encoding

recall vs.

recognition

false positives can occur (e.g., eyewitness testimony)

strong emotional associations can lead to vivid and detailed “flashbulb” memories

more cues stored with a piece of information, the easier the retrieval

improved memory for information if physical surroundings

are similar to those when the memory was first formed

improved memory for information if physiological or

psychological state is similar to that when the memory

was first formed

retrieval cues

encoding

specificity

context-dependent

learning

state-dependent

learning

retrieval

recall: few or no external cues required

recognition: match incoming

sensory information (e.g., see or

hear) to what is already in memory

retrieval failure: (e.g., “tip of the tongue”)

serial position effect: memory improved for items

at beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a list

constructive

processing

of memories

memories are rarely completely accurate and become less accurate over time

Loftus and others have suggested that memory retrieval is a constructive process;

memories are “built” at time of retrieval

memory

retrieval

problems

misinformation effect: incorporation of

inaccurate information into actual memory

reliability of memory

retrieval: false memories

can result from change

in both waking, conscious

states and in altered states

(e.g., hypnosis)

reliability

influenced by plausibility

of event and individual

receiving collaborative

feedback that makes it

easier to believe

M06_CICC7961_05_SE_C06.indd 248 9/1/16 8:00 PM