The False Memory Experiment.html

The False Memory Experiment.html

The False Memory Experiment

Have you ever tried to recall a past event? Do you think you were able to recall it accurately?

Most people are under the impression that they are good (almost perfect) at recalling past events and remembering particular situations. However, the fact is that our memory is malleable—it changes with time and can be manipulated by adding new information (inputs). Although individuals may be confident that their memory of past events is perfect, the false memory experiment will demonstrate that individuals do not always recall exactly what had happened.

Similar to the other memory experiments you have completed, in this experiment, a series of words will be displayed one after another on your computer screen. At the end of the presentation, a grid containing words will appear. You need to click the words that you remember seeing in the word list—in any order.

Not all words appearing in the grid will be present in the word list. The additional words displayed in the grid are known as distracters.

False Memory Experiment: Evaluation Categories

Your experimental results (percent recall) are divided into the following three main categories:

• Original List: The words appearing in the list
• Normal Distracter: The words not appearing in the list and also not related to the other words in the list
• Special Distracter: The words not appearing in the list but related to the other words in the original list

Even though you are confident about your responses, in your experimental results, there are chances that you might have reported at least a few false memories. This is sometimes the case when eyewitnesses are asked to recall an incident.

Additional Material

View a PDF Transcript of False Memory Experiment: Evaluation Categories