False memory

A false memory is a psychological phenomenon where a person recalls something that did not happen or that something happened differently from the way it happened. A false memory is a psychological phenomenon where a person recalls something that did not happen or that something happened differently from the way it happened. This phenomenon was initially investigated by psychological pioneers Pierre Janet and Sigmund Freud. Elizabeth Loftus has, since her debuting research project in 1974, been a lead researcher in memory recovery and false memories. Suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporation of misinformation and source misattribution have been suggested to be several mechanisms underlying a variety of types of false memory phenomena. In 1974, Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer conducted a study to investigate the effects of language on the development of false memory. The experiment involved two separate studies. In the first test, 45 participants were randomly assigned to watch different videos of a car accident, in which separate videos had shown collisions at 20 mph (32 km/h), 30 mph (48 km/h) and 40 mph (64 km/h). Afterwards, participants filled out a survey. The survey asked the question, 'About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?' The question always asked the same thing, except the verb used to describe the collision varied. Rather than 'smashed', other verbs used included 'bumped', 'collided', 'hit', or 'contacted'. Participants estimated collisions of all speeds to average between 35 mph (56 km/h)to just below 40 mph (64 km/h) If actual speed were the main factor in estimate, it could be assumed that participants would have lower estimates for lower speed collisions. Instead, the word being used to describe the collision seemed to better predict the estimate in speed rather than the speed itself.