False memories and persuasion strategies

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2012

Abstract

Research on false memories, which has increased drastically in the past decade, has mainly focused on the cognitive influences that lead to the creation of false memories, such as the theoretical causes of decreased memory strength and source confusion. Although there is certainly a cognitive component to false memories, in this article, I argue that false memories are more likely to be created with the use of persuasion strategies. Within a variety of false memory paradigms, including the misinformation effect, the imagination inflation paradigm, and false confession research, persuasion strategies help create and strengthen false memories. My conclusion is that false memories often occur without the presence of persuasion strategies, but that they are more frequent and compelling with the presence of persuasion strategies. I discuss this conclusion in relation to the source monitoring framework. I also discuss the applied implications of this research. © 2012 American Psychological Association.

Publication Title

Review of General Psychology

Volume

16

Issue

3

First Page

256

Last Page

268

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1037/a0027700

ISSN

10892680

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