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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
Published on: January 31, 2017
The false fame illusion in people with memories about a previous life
Maarten J V Peters1, Robert Horselenberg, Marko Jelicic
1Maastricht University, The Netherlands, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Experimental Psychology, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. m.peters@psychology.unimaas.nl
Abstract:
The present study examined whether individuals with full-blown memories of highly implausible events are prone to commit source monitoring errors. Participants reporting previous-life memories and those without such memories completed a false fame task. This task provides an index of source monitoring errors (i.e., misclassifying familiar non-famous names as famous names). Participants with previous-life memories had a greater tendency to judge the names of previously presented non-famous people as famous than control participants. The two groups did not differ in terms of correct recognition of new non-famous names and famous names. Although dissociation, cognitive failures, sleep-related experiences, depressive symptoms, and signs of psychological distress were all significantly higher in participants with previous-life memories than in controls, these variables did not predict the false fame illusion.
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