Accuracy of memory: False memories

• Aim 


  To test if false memories can be created through suggestion
• Method 


  24 participants give 4 short stories about childhood events. 3 were true, 1 was false. False story = getting lost in shopping mall and being rescued by an elderly woman. Participants asked to write down what they could remember of each event. 1-2 weeks later participants were interviewed about the stories
• Results


  There were 72 true episodes for participants to remember - 68% were remembered, 25% recalled the false story fully or partially. 19/24 correctly identified story 4 as being false
• Conclusion 


  Imagining the event has the potential to create and implant a false memory, affecting the accuracy