Loftus and Pickrell (1995) The Formation of False Memories

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Aim:

To investigate whether it is possible to make people form a false memory of an event that never happened to them.

Method:

Design:

5-page booklet – containing 4 stories (3 true, 1 false)

Fourth story – getting lost in a mall.

Order of events:

  1. True event
  2. False event                – A paragraph each at the top of the page  
  3. True event

Participants were left space to write any memories of the event.

Interviews were used to gain events from relatives – no traumatic or family events easily recalled. Also, the had to give information about a possible trip to the mall or store.

They were asked:

  • Where the family would have shopped when pps were 5
  • Which family members used to go on shopping trips
  • What type of stores were appealing to PPS.
  • To verify that the PPS never got lost in a mall at 5

Event:

  • Lost for extended period of time
  • Cried
  • Lost in department store or mall at 5 years old
  • Found and helped by an elderly woman

Independent variable: the false events in the book.

Dependent variable: whether the false memory was created.

Participants:

24 people (3 males and 21 females) aged 18-53 years.

Recruited by students of University of Washington. (opportunity sampling)

Pairs of individuals – a participants and a relative.

The relative had to be knowledgeable on the PP’s childhood.

Procedure:

PPS told the study was on childhood memory and looking at why some people remember some things and not others.

Asked to read booklet and add anything they could remember – if they didn’t remember anything, they would have to state it. (mailed the booklet back)

Two interviews:

1.1 or 2 weeks after the booklet had been completed.

  • Reminded of the four events
  • Asked to recall as much information as possible
  • Told the interviewers were interested in how much the recalled about childhood events compared to a relative’s recollection.
  • Rate clarity of the memory from 1-10
  • Rate how confident they would be that if more time was given they could remember more details. Rate from 1-5
  • Asked to recall more details for the second time.

2. 1 or 2 weeks after the first one.

  • Same as first interview
  • At the end, the PPs were debriefed (study had attempted to create a memory for an event that did not happen)
  • Asked to pick which event they thought was the false one.
  • Given an apology for the deceptive nature of the study.

Results:

 

  • 49/72 true memories were remembered in total (68%)
  • In the booklet, 7/24 said they remembered the false event.
  • In first interview, one pps said she couldn’t remember the false event, so 6/24 = 25%
  • In second session, the same 25% remembered the false memory.
  • The clarity the true memory was constant = 6.3
  • The clarity of the false event increased in second interview = 2.8 to 3.6
  • Mean words for true events = 138, mean words for false events = 49.9
  • 19/24 chose the right event at debrief.

 

Conclusion:

Some people can be misled into believing a false event happened to them in their childhood through suggestion that it was a true event. Therefore, in some people, memories can be altered by suggestion.

Strengths:

  • Quantitative data
  • Replicable
  • High level of control

Weaknesses:

  • Low generalisability
  • Lack of detail – could be recalling other instances in which they had been lost in crowded areas.
  • Low ecological validity
  • Ethical issues – informed consent, deception, harm

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