Occurrence, plausibility, and desirability for 124 Life Events Inventory items

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Memory Studies

Background:

• Imagination inflation is a phenomenon where imagining an event increases belief in its occurrence.
• The Life Events Inventory (LEI) is commonly used to study imagination inflation.
• Normative data for LEI items are lacking, hindering research design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide normative ratings for 124 items on the Life Events Inventory (LEI).
• To analyze occurrence, plausibility, and desirability ratings for childhood experiences.
• To facilitate informed selection of LEI items for future imagination inflation research.

Main Methods:

• Collected descriptive statistics (mean, median, standard deviation, confidence interval) for 124 LEI items.
• Assessed participant ratings on item occurrence, plausibility, and desirability.
• Analyzed correlations between occurrence, plausibility, and desirability.

Main Results:

• Occurrence and plausibility ratings showed similar patterns and were highly correlated.
• Desirability ratings were moderately correlated with plausibility but not occurrence.
• Provided the first normative data for individual LEI items.

Conclusions:

• The generated normative data will enhance the design and interpretation of imagination inflation studies.
• Understanding the distinct roles of occurrence, plausibility, and desirability is crucial for memory research.
• This work offers a valuable resource for researchers investigating false memories and suggestibility.