Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2026
08:53
Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories
Published on: November 14, 2018
A brighter side to memory illusions: false memories prime children's and adults' insight-based problem solving
Mark L Howe1, Sarah R Garner, Monica Charlesworth
1Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK. mark.howe@lancaster.ac.uk
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|November 4, 2010
Summary
False memories can boost problem-solving. When false memories are generated, children and adults solved insight problems faster and more often, demonstrating a positive cognitive consequence.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Studies
- Human Cognition
Background:
- False memories are typically viewed negatively.
- Their potential positive impacts on cognitive processes remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if false memories can prime insight problem-solving.
- To determine if this priming effect differs between children and adults.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments involved participants solving compound remote associate task (CRAT) problems.
- Problems were primed using Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) lists with critical lures matching problem solutions.
- Participants' recall and problem-solving performance were assessed.
Main Results:
- False recall of DRM critical lures significantly increased CRAT problem solution rates and decreased solution times for both age groups.
- Priming effects were observed even without an explicit recall test, suggesting encoding-based false memory generation.
- No significant difference in performance was found when critical lures were not falsely recalled.
Conclusions:
- False memory generation at encoding can positively prime insight problem-solving.
- This effect is present in both children and adults, highlighting a beneficial role for false memories in cognition.
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