12.4k views
5 votes
What kinds of things increase the likelihood of false memories?

a) Repetition and suggestion
b) Clear and precise recall
c) Short-term memory enhancement
d) Limited exposure to information

1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

Repetition and suggestion, such as leading questions and the misinformation effect, increase the risk of forming false memories.

Step-by-step explanation:

The kinds of things that increase the likelihood of false memories are repetition and suggestion. These can include leading questions that provide new, sometimes inaccurate, information that an individual might integrate into their memory, effectively altering their recollection of events. Such effects are part of the misinformation effect paradigm developed by cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Loftus. Suggestions and questions that imply certain answers can be particularly influential, resulting in a person claiming to remember things that were merely suggested to them. This vulnerability to suggestion and the associated risk of false memories are also seen in cases of eyewitness misidentification and controversies over repressed and recovered memories. Enhanced suggestibility can lead to false memory syndrome, where individuals recall memories that are either distorted or entirely fabricated.

User Michielbdejong
by
8.2k points