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Updated: May 24, 2026
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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection
Published on: August 26, 2011
Creating non-believed memories for recent autobiographical events
Andrew Clark1, Robert A Nash, Gabrielle Fincham
1University of Hull, Hull, Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|March 20, 2012
Summary
Debriefing can create vivid false memories that are no longer believed. This study demonstrates that memory and belief are independent, showing memory can persist without belief in its occurrence.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- False memories can be spontaneously reported, even when not believed.
- Previous research established methods for creating powerful false memories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if debriefing after false memory creation leaves non-believed memories.
- To determine if memory and belief can be experimentally dissociated.
Main Methods:
- Participants imitated actions, then viewed doctored videos suggesting fake actions.
- Debriefing informed participants about the fabricated video content.
- Beliefs and memories were assessed before and after debriefing.
Main Results:
- The procedure successfully created powerful false memories.
- Debriefing reduced belief in the fake actions.
- Residual memory-like content persisted despite disbelief.
Conclusions:
- Debriefing can result in vivid false memories that are no longer believed.
- Memory and belief are independently occurring constructs, dissociable experimentally.
- This study provides the first experimental dissociation of memory and belief.
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