Contemporary psychologists have a keen interest in the phenomenon of false memories. Vast research on the topic proves that there is a great possibility for individuals to provide false information regarding their past, which is not only detrimental for the ones who offer the fabricated accounts, but also those involved. Scholars conduct an examination of cases involving individuals who have admitted to committing crimes or being victimized even though they did not, to have a clearer understanding of the factors that promote this condition. Patihis and Loftus (2016) contend that t he study of false memories can heighten people’s knowledge of the process that is required for the retrieval of child abuse reminiscences and their subsequent retraction for two core reasons.
Firstly, it is possible to determine that individuals did not commit the offense that he/he has confessed to. Finally, the accumulation of a body of research intensifies human understanding of the processes that induce the recollection of false memories. Interestingly, most studies explore the relationships between suggestibility, accounts of made-up childhood events, as well as suggestibility and fabricated confessions. Nonetheless, no research has scrutinized the possible connection between suspected false admissions and alleged false memories. The restoration of normal cognitive function relies first on an understanding of the cognitive process that leads to the formation of false memories and the determination of the factors that influence the recollection of these memories.
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The Focus of the Research
The research is targeted at achieving some core objectives. One of the primary purposes of this study is to determine the factors that trigger the creation and recollection of experiences that have never occurred in an individual’s life. Secondly, it is aimed at promoting a more profound understanding of the mental processes that generate false memories. Additionally, the research also attempts to identify the role played by social pressure in false memories and confessions. Finally, it is focused on determining the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions and whether or not they increase or decrease the quality of life in mentally unstable patients.
Cognitive Processes and Factors that Lead to False Memory Recollection
People have false memories when they recall events that have not occurred previously in their lives. Three unique processes occur during memory formation. Notably, all of these processes are susceptible to errors which may result in false memories. False memories usually occur during processes such as imagery and self-referential encoding. Patihis and Loftus (2016) attribute the development of true and false memories of some neuro-cognitive processes. The medial temporal lobe and the medical and lateral prefrontal cortex are mostly involved in the process of false memory development. Recent studies focus on declarative memory which is extremely flexible and prone to errors, to understand the process that results in false memories. Likewise, most of the sources used to focus on the process of consolidation, and the effect of sleep deprivation in the creation of false memories.
Sleep plays a pivotal role in memory consolidation . Lo et al. (2016) suggest that the lack of adequate sleep leads to ill declarative memory performance. During sleep, freshly attained memory traces are reinforced in different neural circuits, and new memories are collected and stored in the long-term memory, while new memory traces are actively reorganized and incorporated into the pre-existing representations. As a result, there is an excellent possibility for false memories to be developed during the process of consolidation, especially in the form of new and stable knowledge representations, which differ from the material that was initially encoded. Undeniably, false memories are mere simplifications of semantically concomitant information. Nonetheless, sleep deprivation is just one among other factors that result in memory distortion.
New incoming information into the brain is also another factor that leads to false memories. The condition is referred to as retroactive interference, and it occurs when old memories are transformed by new incoming information during the consolidation phase. Hence, misleading post-event information has a significant probability of influencing old memories. In the study by Lo et al. (2016), the participants watched a film involving multiple car accidents. After that, the participants were classified into three distinct groups, and each was given different questions. The control group was not assigned any questions about the velocity of these cars in the film.
Conversely, other groups were questioned about the speed of the vehicles in the accident. The word “Smashed” was extensively used in the questions issued to the control group. One week afterward, the participants were asked if they saw any broken glasses during the accident ( Lo et al., 2016 ). Notably, both the estimation of the velocity and the accounts of seeing broken glasses heightened gradually from the control group to the third group. The misinformation effect is evident in such a case. Undeniably, suggestible and comprehensive data which is received after an event replaces or alters the initial information stored in the human brain. The research shows how false memories are developed in the consolidation stage as a result of the acquisition of post-event knowledge. However, it is not only at the consolidation stage that false memories are formed.
Memory distortion can also occur during retrieval. Human beings often think that they recognize objects or people whom they are not familiar with. The generation of non-existent memories during this stage is chiefly contingent on perceptual procedures that occur during various retrieval-based tasks or cues such as the reminiscence of memories from the brain and other related executive signals. False memories develop under free recall conditions. Undeniably, reconstructive processes are very critical for effective the effective combination of information which leads to the remembrance of meaningful details and genuine memory retrieval. Hence, flaws in reconstructive brain procedures lead to confusion and non-existent memories. Laney and Loftus (2016) claim that the hippocampus is responsible for the reconstruction processes. Hence, it is involved in not only relational procedures but the incorporation and combination of data from various sources. Thus, any flaws in this part of the brain can result in the commemoration of events that have not occurred previously in an individual’s life. Most studies determine the neural correlates of genuine and non-existent memories at retrieval. Nonetheless, the findings are generally heterogeneous. Majority of the studies conclude that the frontal regions of the brain, primarily the hippocampus participates significantly to the reconstruction of memories by flexibly merging elements in mind, which often results in false memory development through flawed recombination. However, despite the quality arguments and extensive evidence provided by any studies to show the cognitive processes that influence false memories, it is critical to note that other factors such as the social pressure, and the need to escape stressful situations can also lead to false memories and confessions.
Laney and Loftus (2016) examine three primary types of false confessions exist. The voluntary disclosure, which is the first category, happens in the absence of any apparent external pressure. The coerced-compliant confession occurs when a person admits to doing something, to escape from a traumatic situation. Finally, the coerced-internalized confession takes place when individuals believe that they committed a particular crime, even if it is not true ( Carpenter & Krendl, 2018). Notably, systematic differences between individuals such as the variations in the levels of self-esteem, confidence, and proneness to guilt may interact with contextual factors like interpersonal pressure, especially from an interrogator, forcing an individual to admit to offenses they have not committed.
A detailed framework is critical for promoting an understanding of the processes that transpire during interrogations which heighten the probability of a fabricated confession. During questionings, people have two options. In the first, a person may have committed a crime even though they have no recollections of doing so. Most of the times, the one under examination is forced to corroborate this fact, for instance, through the use of polygraph tests and false forensic evidence. The second option centers on persuading the suspects of the existence of a valid/plausible reason why he/she has no memory of the offense. One of the main reason given by the police to convince people that they committed a crime is the use of the memory repression approach, which is used to persuade people that they have repressed memories of the traumatic experience.
Laney and Loftus (2016) identify eight critical strategies used by law enforcers not only to overwhelm people but also convince them of their guilt. Indeed, the police employ four of these approaches in all types of false confessions. The strategies include: repeated depictions of the certainty of an individual’s guilt, the isolation of social support and information that contradicts the interrogators view to the suspect, long questioning sessions where the client is subjected to great emotional intensity, and the establishment of an ad hoc explanation that explains why the person does not recall the crime. The four remaining approaches occur in some types of confessions as opposed to others. The tactics range from: constant prompts of past experiences that decrease the interviewee’s confidence in himself/herself, demanding the suspect to publicly show consent for the ad hoc explanation, and instilling immense fear in the interviewee lest he/she does not comply with the demand of the interrogator, which is referred to as social pressure.
Social pressure induces false confessions. Forcing people to provide answers for non-perceived events allows them to report these accounts, even though they are inexperienced. Overt pressure in a confined social interaction results in both coerced-compliant and coerced-internalized false confessions. According to Carpenter and Krendl (2018), r epetitive displays of certainty of a person’s guilt during interrogation is a critical motivator of falsified confessions. Carpenter and Krendl (2018) fittingly observe that eighty percent of individuals confess to crimes due to suggestions made by their interrogators. Likewise, most respondents recall events of childhood abuse that never occurred, if their close acquaintances and therapists make any direct or implied suggestions. Most therapists openly tell their patients that they will only get better when they embrace the memories that they have repressed of childhood abuse ( Goodman, Goldfarb, Chong, & Goodman-Shaver, 2014). The persistent pressure imposed on patients to recall results in false memories leads to self-doubt. Human beings are susceptible to the opinions of others. It is typical for a person’s levels of self-esteem and self-confidence to drop based on the accusations presented to them by others ( Hodgson, 2015) . Undeniably, convincing individuals that the reason they do not remember committing a crime or victimization is due to memory repression is an effective strategy of forcing them to confess falsely.
False memories also occur as a result of therapy. Studies suggest that most individuals have recollections of false memories soon after they have received therapy. In some studies, clients recall non-existent memories of abuse as soon as they undergo memory recovery techniques. Nonetheless, critics argue that not every person with false memories retrieves them through therapy. Notably, the majority of individuals seek treatment with repetitive memories of abuse. According to Laney and Loftus (2016), fabricated claims of violence, especially during childhood can also occur independently and without any type of therapy. In most cases, the self-suggestion intrinsic in a person’s expectations impose pressure towards confabulation, even when a therapist makes extensive efforts to prevent such adverse outcomes. Cases such as these are known as voluntary false confessions, which are free from coercion and the exertion of external pressure by any other party. Laney and Loftus (2016) argue that people who firmly believe they have engaged in crime become more suspicious of themselves due to propositions and authoritative claims from close acquaintances and psychological health professionals. Various mental disorders and their respective therapies are also associated with the occurrence of false memories.
Otgaar, Muris, Howe, and Merckelbach (2017) argue that Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression also make individuals vulnerable to false memories. One of the main symptoms of PTSD and depression is memory aberrations. Notably, people suffering from these ailments tend to remember many undesirable experiences as opposed to positive ones. Studies on the link between the two conditions and memory distortions focus on the amount of data that can be reminisced accurately, which means that the topic of false memories is usually overlooked. The studies examined by Otgaar, Muris, Howe, and Merckelbach (2017) argue that traumatic memories, especially in people with PTSD, are often poorly expounded and incorporated, which makes it hard for these individuals to recollect all the details of petrifying experiences deliberately. Hence, the particulars of distressing autobiographical events are strongly correlated with one another such that a single external cue, for example, a sound, can inevitably induce a cascade of associated disturbing memories such as those of child abuse.
In liaison with a previous point, false memories also emerge during psychological interventions for people suffering from PTSD and depression. Otgaar, Muris, Howe, and Merckelbach (2017) scrutinize accounts provided by mental health professionals in their study. The included psychiatrists observe that many of their patients often recollected experiences of childhood abuse especially after receiving extensive mental health treatment. In addition to the clinical observations, these professionals also admitted that many therapeutic processes involved the use of evocative prompts, which had the potential to tempt the recollection of complete traumatic episodes. Otgaar, Muris, Howe, and Merckelbach (2017) fittingly observe that most of the individuals who claim to have memories of childhood abuse later retract their claims by memory alteration due to the received treatment. Undeniably, therapeutic interventions exert reminiscent pressure, which in turn leads to suggestion-induced memories. Conversely, these memories also occur naturally and in the absence of any external influence. However, both types of false memories can occur in legal and clinical setups. Fabricated memories, therefore, occur due to the involuntary and unconscious memory processes, for instance, the spreading activation.
Spreading activation also influences false memories. The activation monitoring approach argues that non-existent memories result from activation perceptions which are absent in the original event but are triggered when facts from the initial experience distribute via a chain of interconnected nodes. For example, when the words “nightgown, bed, and pillow” which have a strong correlation to the word “sleep” are galvanized, they may give rise to false memories. The theory also claims that apart from spreading activation, monitoring procedures also aid in editing and the recollection of false memories ( Hodgson, 2015) . Hence, memories are examined during retrieval to determine whether they have been bred internally, for instance, via imagination, or if they have been derived from an external source. The theory postulates that children are more susceptible to false memories as compared to older adults since they face more difficulties with source monitoring. Nonetheless, this argument is extensively debated since other studies have found older individuals to be more vulnerable to false memories that youngsters. Other approaches and paradigms can also be examined to promote an understanding of how false memories occur across different ages.
Some models have developed to arouse suggestion-induced memories. The misinformation paradigm is the most prevalent in legal and medical settings. The model comprises of three primary phases ( Wilson et al., 2015 ). In the first, people are presented with real crime scenarios. After that, they are deceived through the use of evocative questions or false bystander statements, which constitute the second stage. Finally, memory tests are issued, and people recall the suggested events even if they did not occur in real life. The misinformation account has led to the provision of false testimonies in courts, resulting in the conviction of many innocent individuals. Legal and clinical settings often impose a lot of stress on individuals. Hence, false confessions are provided to the respective authorities as a means of avoiding stressful stimuli.
Interestingly, people give false confessions to escape the stress that is experienced during therapy. Wilson et al. (2015) argue that mental t reatment requires people to display their vulnerabilities and recall memories that they have repressed, to protect their bodies from further trauma. Hence, most people give false recollections to free themselves from the confines of therapy. In most cases, therapists perceive the memory of traumatic experiences as a critical indicator of recovery. Hence, patients gain their freedom only when patients admit to recalling past abuse experiences. For instance, a respondent may claim to have faked recalling an experience of satanic ritual abuse (SRA) just because a therapist confined her in the hospital for eight weeks, even though he/she claims to be mentally fit. The patient may mimic SRA flashbacks which they have studied extensively through group sessions to show recovery. Notably, patients with psychological disorders are released soon after they indicate some form of progress, which is mostly determined by their ability to recall horrifying experiences. The need for one to free themselves from the confines of a mental health ward is, therefore, one of the primary motivators for false recollections. Apart from social; and external pressure, the effect of semantic and perceptual influences on memory cannot be ignored.
False memories also result due to various semantic and perceptual stimuli. Burnside, Hope, Gill, and Morcom (2017) fittingly observe that older adults are more vulnerable to semantic, as opposed to perceptual effects on non-existent recollections. Hypothetically, older individuals have a greater probability of illusorily pinpointing photos of objects that are unfamiliar to them when the decoys have a relationship to studied objects by the membership of an identical basic-level classification, for instance, an image of a different cat. The memory flaws are accredited to significant dependence on processing semantic gist, as opposed to a specific item and contextual information. Older adults exhibit false recognition when the lures are associative, rather than entirely associated with familiar objects. Burnside, Hope, Gill, and Morcom (2017) pay close attention to the effect that photographs have on human perception and memory.
Photographs not only illustrate life events but also lead to memory distortions. The most significant events in human history are demonstrated using photographs. Burnside, Hope, Gill, and Morcom (2017) contend that pictures offer individuals a type of cognitive “springboard,” which fosters the generation of thoughts, emotions, details, and vivid images, among others, which are the hallmarks of real memories. Undeniably, photographs are far more effective in the development of false memories than verbal descriptions. People are likely to confuse photos with real experiences, a process referred to as source confusion. Photographs have enough power to elicit false memories. Vivid pictures enable people to explore the world of imagination. Hence, there is a higher probability for an individual to recall ninety percent of the content in a news story, especially if it is reinforced by a photograph. Generally, people can give life to stories through photographs. An individual is likely to give false accounts of events that have transpired in their lives by studying a picture, as compared to listening to verbal descriptions. Photos make people nostalgic of events that have not previously happened. Therefore, they are critical stimulants of false memories. Nonetheless, few studies have examined the extents to which these claims are true. Further research is required to explain why some people develop false memories by studying photographs while others do not. The preliminary studies show that some people are immune to memory distortions when compared to others.
Curley, MacLean, and Murray (2017) contend that the extents to which some individuals are more susceptible to false memories are contingent on their personality characteristics. An individual’s personality traits are substantially associated with his/her vulnerability to memory distortions. The authors explore the role of neuroticism in memory alteration and the remembrance of false memories. Individuals in this category are the ones who exhibit depressive symptoms, anxiety, aggression, self-consciousness, and impulsiveness, among others. Doughty, Paterson, MacCann, and Monds (2017) argue that individuals who have a high score on the NEO-FFI personality test are more likely to tell fabricated memories. Additionally, people who have low levels of self-esteem and self-confidence, as well as those who display significant levels of self-doubt, are prone to false memories have a higher susceptibility to non-existent memories. Questioning and compelling individuals to confabulate information can also lead to the recollection of these types of memories. The study also shows that these recollections persist even after they have been confabulated. Nonetheless, further research on all of these factors should be conducted to ascertain these claims.
Summary
Comprehensive scrutiny of the factors that induce the recollection of false memories has been conducted in this paper. First, the research proves that false memories result from faulty mental processes. The episodic memory is remarkably supple, representational, and is composed of productive procedures which are susceptible to flaws. False memories are an outcome of the processes of the broken constructive memory system. Notably, various mental health states such as PTSD and depression, as well as existing knowledge also influence false memories. People suffering from the stated conditions are most vulnerable at the time of therapeutic interventions. The approaches used by medical practitioners to help these patients to retrieve repressed memories, often result in confusion and the falsification of accounts. The use of suggestive prompts, especially, plays a pivotal role in memory distortion. Mentally unstable patients have decreased levels of self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as augmented levels of self-doubt and suspicion. Thus, the suggestive prompts used for memory recollection lead to the reminiscence of experiences that have never occurred. Therefore, the recalled memories may significantly differ from what was formerly encoded. Cognitive functions such as encoding, consolidation, and retrieval happen in liaison with each other. Hence, they should be scrutinized in relation to one another since none can function without the other. Undeniably, a tiny flaw in any of these processes can result in the remembrance of inexperienced events.
Social pressure also induces the development of false memories. An examination of the studies that scrutinize the tactics used by law enforcers during interrogations and therapeutic interventions reveal that social pressure plays a pivotal role in the recollection of false memories. The misinformation effect and the spreading activation approach are excellent examples of strategies used by legal and medical professionals to retrieve confessions from patients and crime suspects. Additionally, false memories and confessions are also tactics used by individuals to free themselves from stressful situations such as therapies, the confines of psychiatric institutions, and the psychological torture imposed by law enforcers. The review reveals that people recall events that have not transpired either spontaneously or through coercion. The two types of false memory induction strategies can occur both in medical and legal institutions.
False memories are also the byproduct of semantic and perceptual stimuli. Theoretically, older adults are more likely to pinpoint photos of objects they are unacquainted with when they are presented with lures that are associated with the examined objects by the membership of the same basic-level classification. Memory defects are attributed to the overdependence on the processing semantic gist, as opposed to a specific item and contextual information. The review further touches on the effect of photographs on false memories. Pictures provide a cognitive “springboard,” which promotes the production of thoughts, emotions, details, and vivid images, the milestones of candid memories. The study reveals that photographs have a more significant influence on the development of false memories as compared to verbal descriptions. Source confusion often occurs when photos are confused with real experiences. Photographs have enough power to elicit false memories. Nonetheless, the impact of photos on memory recollection has not been adequately studied. Hence, additional research on the topic is required, to provide enough evidence to support these claims.
The research further demonstrates that there is consistency in the relationship between psychopathology and unexperienced recollections. Patients with PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder display a high susceptibility to false memories when exposed to associative stimuli that correlate with the existing knowledge base. The review indicates that most studies have ignored or slightly underestimated the role played by professionals in medical and legal settings in the development of false memories.
Conclusion
The prevalence of false confessions especially during court trials has compelled contemporary scholars to examine the phenomenon of false memories. Recent studies focus on the factors that influence the generation of false memories. The research has identified several factors that induce the recollection of experiences that have not occurred formerly in a person’s life. The elements range from, flawed cognitive processes, semantic and perceptual stimuli, social pressure imposed by legal and medical professionals, as well as the presence of various medical conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression, among others. Further research on the topic is required to prove the validity of the claims made in each of the sources used. Indeed, the restoration of flawless cognitive function is contingent on the promotion of an understanding on the mental processes that trigger the formation of false memories as well as the determination of the different factors that influence the commemoration of unexperienced events.
Final Thoughts
False memories indicate flaws in a person’s cognitive function. The sources used are not only scholarly but informative and highly reliable. Nonetheless, most of the studies conducted involve relatively smaller and homogenous samples. Hence, the findings in the majority of the articles cannot be generalized to more diverse samples. Further research on the topic is recommended for the production of not only reliable and valid findings but also results that can be generalized to other groups. Undeniably, studies that involve more heterogeneous samples, such as those that examine false memories in children, older adults, men, women, as well as those that comprise of individuals from diverse geographical locations should be conducted to attain this goal. Concurrently, the factors that influence false memories would be determined conclusively.
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