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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
Published on: January 31, 2017
A few seemingly harmless routes to a false memory
Deryn Strange1, Matthew P Gerrie, Maryanne Garry
1School of Psychology Victoria, University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.
Abstract:
Since the invention of photography we have learned to rely on photos to help us remember significant moments in our lives. We have come to believe that photographs are accurate and valuable records of events that-years down the track-we may not be able to remember. In this paper, we review recent research demonstrating that photographs can also help us to "remember" events that never really happened. We trace the development of the leading false autobiographical memory paradigm, and we then describe research on the power of both fake narrative stories and fake photographs to cultivate false memories.
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