The effects of group discussion on actual and false memories

Schacter (1999, 2001) has provided a taxonomy for studying memory distortions that suggests there are seven "sins" of memory: misattribution, persistence, suggestibility, bias, absent-mindedness, blocking, and transience. Although there has been a great deal of evidence that these memory distortions occur among individuals, few studies have examined the effects of discussion on false memories. In the present study, we presented seven memory tasks, each designed to elicit a different memory sin, to participants who either encoded the information individually or engaged in discussion within groups of 2 or 3 while retrieving the information. We found widespread evidence of all seven memory sins, whether participants engaged in discussion during retrieval or not. Group discussion increased actual memory for information. Regarding memory sins, group discussion increased misattribution and persistence, and decreased transience. Discussion had no significant effect on suggestibility, bias, absent-mindedness, or blocking. We discuss implications for situations where people attempt to retrieve memories while discussing them.