Calado Bruna, Luke Timothy J, Connolly Deborah A, Landström Sara, Otgaar Henry
Department of Clinical Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Memory. 2021 Nov;29(10):1320-1341. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2021.1981944. Epub 2021 Sep 27.
Research to date has exclusively focused on the implantation of false memories for single events. The current experiment is the first proof of concept that false memories can be implanted for repeated autobiographical experiences using an adapted false memory implantation paradigm. We predicted that false memory implantation approaches for repeated events would generate fewer false memories compared to the classic implantation method for single events. We assigned students to one of three implantation conditions in our study: Standard, Repeated, and Gradual. Participants underwent three interview sessions with a 1-week interval between sessions. In the Standard condition, we exposed participants to a single-event implantation method in all three interviews. In the Repeated condition, participants underwent a repeated-event implantation method in the three interviews. The Gradual condition also consisted of a repeated-event implantation method, however, in the first interview alone, we suggested to participants that they had experienced the false narrative once. Surprisingly, within our sample, false memories rates in the Standard condition were not higher compared to the Repeated and Gradual conditions. Although sometimes debated, our results imply that false memories for repeated events can be implanted in lab conditions, likely with the same ease as false memories for single events.
迄今为止的研究仅聚焦于对单一事件的错误记忆植入。当前的实验首次证明了使用一种经过改良的错误记忆植入范式，可以针对重复的自传体经历植入错误记忆。我们预测，与针对单一事件的经典植入方法相比，针对重复事件的错误记忆植入方法产生的错误记忆会更少。在我们的研究中，我们将学生分配到三种植入条件之一：标准条件、重复条件和渐进条件。参与者接受了三次访谈，每次访谈间隔1周。在标准条件下，我们在所有三次访谈中都让参与者接触单一事件植入方法。在重复条件下，参与者在三次访谈中接受重复事件植入方法。渐进条件也采用重复事件植入方法，然而，仅在第一次访谈中，我们向参与者暗示他们曾经历过一次虚假叙述。令人惊讶的是，在我们的样本中，标准条件下的错误记忆率与重复条件和渐进条件相比并不更高。尽管有时存在争议，但我们的结果表明，在实验室条件下可以植入针对重复事件的错误记忆，其难易程度可能与植入针对单一事件的错误记忆相同。
