The influence of suggestibility on memory
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories
Published on: November 14, 2018
Serge Nicolas1, Thérèse Collins, Yannick Gounden
1Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neuropsychologie Cognitives, Université Paris Descartes & CNRS FRE 3292, 71 Avenue Edouard Vaillant, 92774 Boulogne-Billancourt, France. serge.nicolas@parisdescartes.fr
Abstract:
We provide a translation of Binet and Henri's pioneering 1894 paper on the influence of suggestibility on memory. Alfred Binet (1857-1911) is famous as the author who created the IQ test that bears his name, but he is almost unknown as the psychological investigator who generated numerous original experiments and fascinating results in the study of memory. His experiments published in 1894 manipulated suggestibility in several ways to determine effects on remembering. Three particular modes of suggestion were employed to induce false recognitions: (1) indirect suggestion by a preconceived idea; (2) direct suggestion; and (3) collective suggestion. In the commentary we suggest that Binet and Henri's (1894) paper written over 115 years ago is still highly relevant even today. In particular, Binet's legacy lives on in modern research on misinformation effects in memory, in studies of conformity, and in experiments on the social contagion of memory.
Related Concept Videos
Eyewitness Memory
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function like a...
False Memories
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information with...
The Influence of Affect on Cognition
Implicit Memories
One key aspect of implicit...
Impact of Schemas
Storage

