For some reason we believe that our memories are accurate. They are far from it. What we remember is a hodge-podge, a patchwork of images, stories, and bits and pieces from our past. In this episode I describe some of the very interesting research showing how our memories can be manipulated in surprising ways. Learn why you loved asparagus as a kid (really you did, really).
- Geraerts, E., Berstien, D.M., Merckelbach, H., Linders, D., Raymaekers, L. & Loftus, E.F. (2008). Lasting false beliefs and their behavioral consequences. Psychological Science, 19, 749-753.
- Lanye, C., MOrris, E.K., Bernstein, D.M., Wakefield, B.M. and Loftus, E.F. (2008). Asparagus, a love story: Healtheir eating coulbd be just a false memory away. Experimental Psychology, 55, 291-300.
- Loftus, E.L. (1997). Creating false memories. Scientific American.
- Loftus, E.L. and Ketcham, K. (1994). The Myth of Repressed Memory. St. Martin’s Press.
- Stadler, M.A., Hoediger, H.L. and McDermott, K.B. (1999). Norms for word lists that create false memories. Memory & Cognition, 27(3), 494-500.
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Hi Michael
This is a very interesting episode (I’ve got a few minutes left that I’ll have to listen to this afternoon), but the first couple of studies raised a few questions for me. I haven’t read the papers, so perhaps they’re addressed already.
With the first study, the focus is on egg salad, and the implication is that the researchers could implant a vague childhood memory of getting sick from it, and this was evidenced by a preference over the last 4 months of not eating egg salad. I guess my issue is this: I don’t know if egg salad is a lot more popular in the Netherlands (where the study was done) but I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw egg salad at a party, let alone ate it. I think I’d be quite happy to eat it, just like egg salad rolls I guess (maybe I’ve seen those recently) but I just tend to choose something like ham and cheese and tomato – not because I’m avoiding egg salad but simply because I find other things more appealing.
In the next study, they managed to convince people they liked asparagus when, perhaps, they didn’t. I may have missed the details but I could easily imagine not liking something as a child but developing (as I’m guessing you have) an appreciation for it as an adult (e.g. asparagus, broccoli, mustard, …).
I’m wondering how they control for these kinds of variations.
The mall experiment sounds very interesting and credible, and makes you wonder what sort of interesting things totalitarian societies could get up to (& have got up to) with the kind of control they have over their citizens. 1984 all over again. Scary stuff.
Thanks and keep up the good work.