How can you tell if a particular memory belonging to you or someone else is true or false? Cognitive scientists use a variety of techniques to measure groups of memories, whereas police, lawyers, and other researchers use procedures to determine whether an individual can be believed or not. We discuss evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies and research on lying that have attempted to distinguish true from false memories.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BraunK.A.EllisR.LoftusE.F.
(2002).
Make my memory: How advertising can change our memories of the past.
Psychology and Marketing,
19,
1–23.
2.
CabezaR.St. JacquesP.L.
(2007).
Functional neuroimaging of autobiographical memory.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences,
11,
219–227.
3.
CraikF.I.M.TulvingE.
(1975).
Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,
104,
268–294.
4.
EkmanP.
(1992).
Telling lies: Clues to deceit in the marketplace, politics, and marriage. New York: Norton.
5.
HymanI.E.BillingsF.J.
(1998).
Individual differences and the creation of false childhood memories.
Memory,
6,
1–20.
6.
LaneyC.Bowman FowlerN.NelsonK.J.BernsteinD.M.LoftusE.F.
(2008).
The persistence of false beliefs.
Acta Psychologica,
129,
190–197.
PoldrackR.A.WagnerA.D.
(2008).
Introduction to the special issue: The interface between neuroscience and psychological science.
Current Directions in Psychological Science,
17,
61.
12.
PorterS.BrinkeL.T.
(2008).
Reading between the lies: Identifying concealed and falsified emotions in universal facial expressions.
Psychological Science,
19,
508–514.
13.
RoedigerH.L.III.McDermottK.B.
(1995).
False perceptions about false memories.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition,
22,
803–814.
14.
SchacterD.L.SlotnikS.D.
(2004).
The cognitive neuroscience of memory distortion.
Neuron,
44,
149–160.
15.
SchoolerJ.W.GerhardD.LoftusE.F.
(1986).
Qualities of the unreal.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition,
12,
171–181.
SuengasA.G.JohnsonM.K.
(1988).
Qualitative effects of rehearsal on memories for perceived and imagined complex events.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,
117,
377–389.
18.
VrijA.
(2005).
Criteria-based content analysis: A qualitative review of the first 37 studies.
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law,
11,
3–41.
19.
WatkinsM.J.PeynirciogluZ.F.
(1990).
The revelation effect: When disguising test items induces recognition.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition,
16,
1012–1020.
