Imagination and memory: does imagining implausible events lead to false autobiographical memories?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Memory Studies

Background:

• Previous research indicates imagination can lead to false autobiographical memories.
• This has implications for therapeutic techniques involving memory recall, particularly concerning childhood sexual abuse allegations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether imagining plausible versus implausible childhood events differentially affects the likelihood of forming false memories.
• To examine the interaction between event plausibility and the act of imagination on autobiographical memory ratings.

Main Methods:

• 145 participants rated 20 childhood events for occurrence at two time points (Time 1 and Time 2, two weeks apart).
• Participants were instructed to imagine one plausible and one implausible target event between assessments.
• Event plausibility and imagination manipulation were used to assess changes in reported memory occurrence.

Main Results:

• Imagining plausible events significantly increased the likelihood of participants rating them as having occurred.
• Imagining implausible events did not significantly alter the occurrence ratings.
• A significant interaction was found between event plausibility and the act of imagination on memory occurrence ratings.

Conclusions:

• The act of imagining a plausible event can increase the likelihood of it being falsely recalled as a genuine memory.
• Therapeutic interventions encouraging imagination of plausible past events may inadvertently create false memories.
• Distinguishing between plausible and implausible events is critical when considering the impact of imagination on autobiographical memory.