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What is False Memory

A false memory is a distorted idea about an event which can differ in minute details or may even be dramatically different. It may also be referred to the fabrication of an entirely new event which never occurred at all but people strongly believe that it did. These memories can either be along the blurry lines or vividly etched into our brains.

Factors that cause false memory

False memories can occur for trivial matters like forgetting the grocery bag at home or even for many serious matters like recognizing a criminal from a scene you were present at. So, let’ look at some factors that cause these false memories-

Inaccurate Perception

Sometimes memories can be flawed when they are being made, i.e. during the encoding stage. We may perceive the event wrongfully while it is still occurring which lead to inaccurate recall of the memory. For example- if an eyewitness is asked to carefully recall each detail from a crime scene, where he only saw the criminal for a short span of time in the dark and he was also stressed about everything happening around him, such circumstances are likely to reduce the eyewitness’s ability to see the criminal and later reduce the chances of identifying the criminal.

Inferences

The fallacy in our memories can also be due to the inferences that we draw during the event. While experiencing anything, we make use of our previous knowledge and experiences to understand the current scenario. While reading stories, we imagine and interpret the statements according to our existing information. One common example of inferences is the experiment where people hear a list of similar words like bed, pillow, dream, yawn, nap and when later asked if the word ‘sleep’ was presented, they claim that it was even when it wasn’t.

Interference

We tend to retrieve our memories after a certain period. During this time period, many other events may occur that interfere with the early memories. For example- While recalling French learnt during college, it may interfere with Spanish learnt during high school.

Similarity-

There are often problems that arise when we try to recognize whether an incident occurred or not in the past. Recognition tests are a good example where subjects are asked to recall words or objects or people from a mixed-up list of new and studied items. Another example is the multiple-choice based questions, that often confuse students. The false memories caused by similarities can also be very dangerous when it comes to recognizing the criminals. The famous case of Ronald Cotton, where Cotton was arrested for rape charges and wrongfully imprisoned for more than ten years is a real example.

Misattribution

False memories may also occur when details from one event might be mixed up with another event. For example- telling someone an incident about your latest vacation may get mistakenly mixed up with an incident that occurred on another vacation which was several years ago or sometimes people may combine two different events into one.

Learn Also About 

Dissociative Disorder

Who is more likely to experience false memories?

Memory isn’t permanent. It is ever-changing. Certain people or situations are more likely to develop false memories. These include:

Eyewitnesses

People who are witness to a crime scene have a lot on their shoulders. Their statements are highly important and sometimes people tend to fill all gaps they have in the memory of the incident leading to faulty memories

Trauma

Research suggests that people are more likely to form false memories if they have experienced any trauma, depression or stress in their lives. Negative events produce more false memories as compared to positive or neutral ones.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Individuals suffering from OCD are prone to memory deficits. They often doubt their own memories and are more likely to create false ones.

Ageing

With the passage of time, our memories start to diminish. People may remember the gist of an event but the details of the event fade away.

Important terms related to false memory

False memory syndrome– False memory syndrome is an experience that generally occurs in adult psychotherapy. It is a phenomenon where clients seem to recall events that actually never took place. The recalled events or pseudo memories are usually vivid and filled with emotions. These memories most often represent abusive or violent acts of committed against the client in their childhood. False memory syndrome is also known as recovered memory or pseudo memory or memory distortion.

Confabulation– The term confabulation was coined by Karl Bonhoeffer, who described it as when an individual gives answers that are false or sound made up. Confabulation is a basic symptom of memory disorders where made-up stories fill any gaps present in the memory. Some conditions where confabulation can be present are traumatic brain injuries, split-brain syndrome, memory disorders like dementia or Alzheimer’s, etc.

The misinformation effect- The Misinformation Effect was coined by Elizabeth Loftus. It is the phenomenon that describes how our memories can vary and become false due to exposure from misleading questions, information, or new memories.

In one of the pioneer experiments conducted by Loftus and Palmer, the participants were asked to estimate the speed of two cars in a crash in a video. The participants were asked, “About how fast were the cars going when they __ each other?” The gap in the sentence was filled with words like smashed, hit, collided, bumped and contacted. The stronger the words were, the higher was the estimated speed.

Mandala effect- The mandala effect can be used to describe a situation where a large number of people believe that an event occurred but in reality, it did not. One of the famous examples that everyone can relate to is the phrase “Mirror, mirror on the wall..” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You might be surprised that the actual phrase begins with “Magic mirror on the wall..”

How are false memories formed:

The Skeleton Theory

Elizabeth Loftus developed the skeleton theory. It explains how we acquire as well as recall memories.

There are multiple parts involved in each process. The procedure of recalling a memory is divided into parts- the acquisition process and the retrieval process.

The process of acquisition occurs in three steps-

In the first step, from a pool or variety of stimuli, we attend to a particular stimulus or on a small portion of the stimuli.

In the second step, visual perception is translated into statements and explanation.

In the third or last step, we make meaning of our perceptions by relating it to past or external knowledge.

The process of retrieval occurs in two steps-

In the first step, memory is regenerated and the person tries to recall it by imagining the stimuli that they focused on.

In the second step, the person has to communicate his memory or perception, to others by ‘painting a picture’ of whatever they recall from when they made the sensory input.

The entire process either leads to an accurate recall or a false memory.

Ways to Improve Memory

Focus on the task at hand with full attention,
Use elaborative rehearsal, that is, understanding the meaning of the obtained information and it’s relation to the past knowledge.
Visualization of concepts helps to remember better and makes it easier to recall.
Making a structured, organized plan for studies is beneficial as even our memory stores information in clusters.
Sleep eliminates various environmental stimuli that are likely to interfere with the learned material.

Conclusion

Our memories are changing with every hour and with every new experience. We can control most of it by enhancing our alertness in situations and not making judgments beforehand. False memories can have vast consequences, mainly in legal matters and may cost the lives of innocent people.