The effects of false feedback on state memory distrust towards commission and omission and recognition memory errors

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Metacognition
• Memory Research

Background:

• Memory distrust involves subjective appraisal of memory, encompassing both forgetting (omission errors) and false memories (commission errors).
• The relationship between memory distrust aspects and memory validation or reporting accuracy is not fully understood.
• Metacognitive appraisals are crucial for understanding how individuals evaluate and utilize their own memory.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate how metacognitive appraisals, specifically feedback on memory error tendencies, influence memory validation and reporting.
• To examine whether feedback regarding commission or omission errors affects response criteria in memory tasks.
• To explore the mediating role of state memory distrust in these effects.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 622 participants completed a memory task involving inaccurate feedback about tendencies towards commission or omission errors, or no feedback (control).
• Participants then underwent a recognition task to assess memory reporting.
• Response criteria shifts were analyzed in relation to the type of feedback received.

Main Results:

• Feedback indicating a tendency for commission errors led to a more conservative response criterion.
• Feedback suggesting a tendency for omission errors resulted in a more liberal response criterion.
• Manipulation checks failed to confirm expected changes in state memory distrust, and it was not found to mediate the observed effects.

Conclusions:

• Experimental feedback on error types can alter memory reporting strategies by shifting response criteria.
• The study's findings suggest that metacognitive feedback impacts memory reporting independently of, or without significantly altering, state memory distrust.
• Further research is needed to clarify the precise mechanisms linking metacognitive appraisals to memory validation and reporting accuracy.