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False Memories
Memory is defined as the psychological capacity to encode and recollect past encounters
and events. Decades of research has provided substantial support for the brain’s capability and
incapability to recall accurate information. False memories refer to the trust and belief placed in
false accounts of past events. False memories are when individuals recall information,
encounters, and events in a different manner from what truly happened; thus, the instances in
which individuals recall events that in no way happened. Various factors play a crucial role in
professionals and individuals understanding how false memories develop in childhood through
adulthood. Memory is important to comprehend because it significantly influences how
individuals can operate in the present and consider the future. The hippocampus, neocortex, and
amygdala are ultimately responsible for retrieving and recalling episodic and semantic memory.
When looking deeper into the anatomy of the brain, individuals will see that the amygdala is
additionally responsible for processing emotion. Thus, the discussion of emotion influencing
memory recollection. Memory aids individuals in decision-making, problem-solving, basic
cognition, and awareness. It is a well-known implication and limitation that an individual’s
memory can often cause various inaccuracies, such as false memories. *Insert thesis*
Defining False Memories
It is imperative to find the value in examining the potential factors that can lead to the
development of false memories. However, in order to appropriately examine the potential
factors, false memories must be defined and understood. Researchers and authors in the field of
behavioral science have successively uncovered over several decades that everyday memories,
events, and encounters are not as presently reliable as individuals may be led to believe. The
reality is that memories are easily challenged, manipulated, and influenced by the public eye
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(Brainerd & Reyna, 2005). The most prevalent manner in which memories are falsified is
through imagination. When encounters and events are imagined by an individual repeatedly,
there is a blur between cognitively determining whether it truly happened. It is common for
individuals to have vivid and detailed memories of events and encounters that simply never took
place (Brainerd & Reyna, 2005).
Misinformation Paradigm
Misinformation occurs when information is presented to an individual, resulting in false
memory development. In a 2021 study, participants viewed an event followed by misleading
information coupled with being asked misleading questions pertaining to that particular event.
Results showed that 50% of the participants tended to believe the false information that had been
provided, and proceeded to recount in descriptive detail the event as if it had truly happened
(Muschalla & Shöborn, 2021). Researchers using the misinformation paradigm are essentially
inducing false memories and false beliefs, which are primarily caused by participants’
imagination. Furthermore, the induction suggests and presses potential detrimental influence on
individuals (Muschalla & Shöborn, 2021). Inducing false memories and false beliefs is a form of
experimental manipulation, which can spark harmful and detrimental results including prolonged
suffering and extreme stressors. According to Muschalla and Shöborn (2021), experimental
manipulation can unravel actual traumatic responses and memories in individuals participating in
a study.
False Memory Implants and Impact
In 2022, Chamberlain, Bowman, and Dennis conducted a study that hypothesized false
memories that are implanted in individuals will later report experiences, events, and encounters
they believed actually happened. The results of this study found that children have reported
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having implanted memories from a young age (Chamberlain et. al., 2022). Researchers
concluded that implanted memories from a young age are more likely to be perceived as true as
time progresses; most will not question whether it is falsified information.
False Memory Formation
False memories are typically formed by the combining of actual memories with
suggestions provided by other individuals (Brook, 2021). For example, during a conversation,
while the brain is working to retrieve, individuals may forget information while trying to tell a
story. Someone may offer an explanation or a simple guess, and the individual may suddenly
remember that as correct, due to being unable to retrieve the remainder of the story. This
prevalent factor of false memory formation is known as being offered corroboration from
someone (Brook, 2021). A family member or a friend may suggest a prediction or explanation,
and although it could make sense or be true in retrospect, it is false corroboration. However, it is
accepted more often than not due to the brain’s inability to properly retrieve the memory or
information that an individual is attempting to access. There are a blur between the events and
suggestions from others – creating a false narrative for the individual (Brook, 2021). In order to
decrease the amount of false memory creation that individuals and professionals partake in,
encouraging excessive imagination must largely decrease.
Risk Factors
There are various risk factors that are associated with the development of false memories
and false beliefs in individuals. A study was conducted in 2010 in which participants completed a
memory survey in order to assess the presence of false memories and false beliefs in association
with trauma among 50 participants. Results of this study found that memory intrusion is a risk
factor for individuals who have been encouraged towards imaginative reasoning. Intrusive
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memories include flashbacks, such as intrusive images and nightmares. According to Malek
(2020), 12% of participants in the study suffered from memory intrusion, which has been closely
related to the beginning stages of PTSD. This study is important because it attempted to assess
whether memory intrusion was caused by past memories or current threats toward the individual.
Similarly, intrusion errors surfaced in the recall section of the memory survey, revealing that
confusion throughout the brain and poor cognitive functioning (Malek, 2020). Researchers also
suspected that the trauma that stemmed from memory intrusion in participants, truly were false
reoccurring memories resurfaced.
Conclusion
Understanding the development of false memories is imperative for individuals in society
and professionals within the field of behavioral science. Research has successively shown that
the development of false memories can be detrimental for children and adults. Studies
throughout the literature have presented what factors may influence an individual’s memory.
Under the circumstance in which individuals in society and professionals in behavioral science
fail to understand the development of false memories or continue to influence misinformation,
individuals will be increasingly susceptible to repressing memories and suffering from extreme
stressors. In order to expand on current findings in the literature, researchers must decrease in the
amount of misleading questions they direct towards individuals as this encourages confusion and
disbelief, a way that the brain was not created to function in. Memory is a working process;
however, at times when the brain is unable to retrieve memory properly, individuals should
receive valuable and safe support, rather than intruding suggestions of imagination that can be
harmful over time.
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References
Brainerd, & Reyna, v. F. (2005). The science of false memory. Oxford University Press.
Brook. (2021). A false memory trap: Verbatim vs gist memories on trial. Alternative Law
Journal, 46(4), 293–298.
Chamberlain, Bowman, C. R., & Dennis, N. A. (2022). Age-related differences in encoding-
retrieval similarity and their relationship to false memory. Neurobiology of Aging, 113,
15–27.
Malek, K. J. (2010). False memory development: An in-depth look at false memory prevalence,
circumstances, and associated risk factors.
Muschalla, B., Shöborn, F. (2021). Induction of false beliefs and false memories in laboratory
studies: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 28(5), 1194-1209.
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