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Planting False Memories: Are Transgressions As Believable As Victimizations? Presented at the annual UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium By Sara Holderfield. May 13, 2006. Have You Ever…. Forgotten something and then remembered it?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Planting False Memories: Are Transgressions As Believable As
Victimizations?
Presented at the annual
UCI Undergraduate Research SymposiumBy
Sara Holderfield
May 13, 2006
Have You Ever…• Forgotten something and then
remembered it?
This is normal forgetting and remembering. Usually, there are no dire consequences for mixing up the
facts of a memory.
• Believed an event happened one way only to find out you were wrong?
Why Research False Memories?In the Early ’80’s, serious and bizarre sex abuse
allegations started coming out due to “recovered memories”, and innocent people were being slandered at best, convicted at
worst.
Recanters
"...I was able to figure out the so called 'recovered memories' were nothing more than visualizations from suggestions, guided imagery, therapist interpreted dreams, and hypnosis. You had nothing to do with my figuring out what was happening to me." From a letter by Deborah David to Dr. Colin Ross, a RMT and Multiple Personality Disorder therapist.
www.religioustolerance.org
Is it possible to plant false memories in a lab setting?
50% false memory using false photograph
Wade, Garry, Read, Lindsay (2002)
25% and 31% false memories using false profile
Bernstein, Laney, Morris, Loftus (2005)
Is it possible to plant false memories in a lab setting?
25% false memory using family involvement
Loftus and Pickrell (1995)
26% complete memory for false itemPorter, Yuille, Lehman (1999)
What about transgressions?
We know we can plant false benign and false traumatic memories, but can we
plant false memories for a transgression, like cheating?
Why study transgressions?175 wrongful convictions overturned as of
May 4, 2006.
Of the first 130 exonerations, 35 were false confessions.
(www.innocenceproject.com)
Studying false memories for a transgression is a move in the right direction for studying
false internalized-confessions.(Kassin, 1997)
Subjects
N=170
UCI students=157, IVC=13
Male=51, Female=119
Range in age from 18-43
“Social Perceptions” Study
Additional surveys1 week
Personalizedprofile
Confidence(SEI-1)
AndPersonality
survey
Self-Esteem Scale
I feel I do not have much to be proud of.
1 2 3 4
I am able to do things as well as most other people.
1 2 3 4
I take a positive attitude toward myself.
1 2 3 4
On the whole I am satisfied with myself.
1 2 3 4
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
School Experiences Events Inventory
Below is a list of events that may or may not have happened to you. Please read each event and rate how certain you are that the event (or a very similar event) did or did not happen to you.
Definitely Definitely did not happen did happen
6. I won a spelling bee in elementary school 1 2 3 4 5 6 77. I went to the school nurse and had my temperature checked
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. I got an ‘A’ in math class in 9th grade 1 2 3 4 5 6 79. I was forced to repeat a grade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. I cheated on a test in 7th and/or 8th grade
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. I took drivers’ education during high school 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
“Social Perceptions” Study
Additional Surveys(SEI 2)
1 weekPersonalized
profile
Confidence(LEI 1)
andpersonality
surveys
Subject Name: Molly Memory
• Your self-esteem is high compared to others in your peer group. This disposition has led you to have a healthy respect for your own abilities.
• You have had some successes and some failures so far, but your confidence in your own
abilities to perform well is increasing over time. Studies suggest that increasing confidence levels
lead to increasing success rates.
Subject Name: Frank Fallible
• Your self-esteem is low compared to your peer group. This disposition has led you to doubt your abilities even in the face of success.
• Your relative lack of confidence contributed to your decision to cheat on a test during adolescence. According to a recent study, individuals who cheat during this critical time period tend to develop higher levels of test anxiety than those who refrain from cheating. Additional research suggests that those who admit to having cheated, even years after the fact, can reduce their test anxiety dramatically.
Memory or Belief?
1. I made a goal during a soccer game in a PE class
2. I cheated on a test in 7th and/or 8th grade
3. I felt an earthquake during high school
P
B
M
Defining False Memories
We need to distinguish true memories from false in some way. The criteria are:
• Low confidence Day 1, Higher confidence Day 2
• “Memory” or “Belief”
Confidence –subjects starting below 5 (on 7-pt scale)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Day 1 Day 2
experimental
Experimental: t(43) = 5.86, p <.001
CONFIDENCE
Confidence –subjects starting below 5 (on 7-pt scale)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Day 1 Day 2
experimentalcontrol
Experimental: t(43) = 5.86, p <.001Control: t(44) = 5.18, p <.001
CONFIDENCE
So what now?
• Did we enter data wrongly?
• Were subjects given the wrong profiles?
• Are UCI students on to us and we have used the same profile too long?
Future Directions
• Compare UCI and IVC students.
• Analyze differences between true and false memories.
• Look at consequences for false beliefs.
• Use a new method of manipulation and a less common false memory target.
Thank you!Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.
Cara Laney, Ph.D. Candidate
Valerie Jenness, Ph.D.
Erin Morris, Ph.D. Candidate
S.U.R.P.
U.R.O.P.
Contact Information:
Sara Holderfield
949.701.8609
Thank you!