Question:
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Elizabeth Loftus and Jacqueline Pickrell (1995), with the help of participant's family members, did a study on the success of implanting memories. Participants read a story that stated when they were 5 years old they got lost while shopping, and then they were found crying by an elderly person before being reunited with family. This false memory was either partially or fully remembered by approximately 30% of participants. 25% of participants said they remembered the event in later interviews. Other experiments looked into the malleability of autobiographical memory. Participants were asked to remember a scenario that never happened, and if photos were provided then the likelihood they would remember it was higher. Do you have any memories where it feels like you only remember it because there are photos you've seen?
Even just imagining a past event can lead a person to believe that it actually did happen even if it doesn't make sense. In a mega-analysis of more than 400 memory reports 30.5% determined a false memory had been remembered, 23% accepted that the memory was a real event at least to some extent. These false memories might be because someone is encouraged to remember an event and discouraged from thinking about if it is true or not. This can lead to someone attributing the image to a real childhood memory instead of something they are being asked to imagine. This is called: source confusion.
It does make me wonder about some of my memories from my childhood. So many of my childhood memories that I feel like I remember well also have pictures I can reference. I also have 3 siblings, and we are all close in age, so we experienced a lot of things together and have frequently reminisced on our childhood. So now I wonder if I actually remember some of these events or not. Especially the ones where I was quite young, and the pictures seem to bring forth vivid images. Also, since I've heard stories so many times, I wonder if I actually remember some events or if I think I do from hearing the story. I also wonder if the stories we are telling collectively are even accurate, or if we just have an implanted memory from all the pieces of the story we each contribute to it.