Memory Can Be Modified or Created by Suggestion • 225Although the mechanism that causes the misinformation effect is still being dis-
cussed by researchers, there is no doubt that the effect is real and that experiment-
ers’ suggestions can infl uence participants’ reports in memory experiments (Table 8.2).
Some of the most dramatic demonstrations of the effect of experimenter suggestion
show that it can cause people to believe that events occurred early in their lives even
though these events never happened.CREATING FALSE MEMORIES
FOR EARLY EVENTS IN PEOPLE’S LIVES
Ira Hyman, Jr., and coworkers (1995) created false memories for long ago events in an
experiment in which they contacted the parents of their participants and asked them
to provide descriptions of actual events that happened when the participants were chil-
dren. The experimenters then also created descriptions of false events, ones that never
happened, such as a birthday that included a clown and a pizza, and spilling a bowl of
punch at a wedding reception.
Participants, who as college students were far removed from these childhood expe-
riences, were given some of the information from the parents’ descriptions and were
told to elaborate on them. They were also given some of the information from the false
events and were told to elaborate on them as well. The result was that 20 percent of
the false events were “recalled” and described in some detail by the participants. For
example, the following conversation occurred when an interviewer (I) asked a partici-
pant (P) what he remembered about a false event.I: At age 6 you attended a wedding reception, and while you were running around
with some other kids you bumped into a table and turned a punch bowl over on a
parent of the bride.
P: I have no clue. I have never heard that one before. Age 6?
I: Uh-huh.
P: No clue.
I: Can you think of any details?
P: Six years old; we would have been in Spokane, um, not at all.
I: OK.However, in a second interview that occurred 2 days later, the participant responded
as follows:I: The next one was when you were 6 years old and you were attending a wedding.
P: The wedding was my best friend in Spokane, T___. Her brother, older brother, was
getting married, and it was over here in P___, Washington, ’cause that’s where her
family was from, and it was in the summer or the spring because it was really hot
outside, and it was right on the water. It was an outdoor wedding, and I think we
were running around and knocked something over like the punch bowl or some-
thing and um made a big mess and of course got yelled at for it.
I: Do you remember anything else?
P: No.
I: OK.TABLE 8.2 Explanations for the Misinformation Eff ect
Explanation Basic PrincipleMemory trace replacement (Loftus) MPI replaces original memory.
Retroactive interference MPI interferes with (but does not eliminate) original memory.
Source monitoring error MPI is mistakenly identifi ed as what was originally experienced.Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.